


Begin Again

by CarryOnTeamFreeWill



Category: Castiel - Fandom, Dean Winchester - Fandom, SPN, Sam Winchester - Fandom, Supernatural
Genre: F/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-09-21
Updated: 2020-12-14
Packaged: 2021-03-08 02:00:16
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Major Character Death
Chapters: 28
Words: 78,549
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/26587765
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/CarryOnTeamFreeWill/pseuds/CarryOnTeamFreeWill
Summary: He's the reason her brother is dead. When his life is on the line, she does all she can to save his brother from the pain she experienced. Will they be able to work through their past?Dean Winchester x OC. Angst and fluff overload.
Relationships: Dean Winchester/Original Female Character(s)
Comments: 5
Kudos: 12





	1. Chapter 1

The music that flooded through the car did nothing for the frustration pounding at my head. I groaned and tightened my ponytail as Kaden took another left. It had been a stressful week, that's for sure. The number of demons seemed to have doubled overnight leaving me with no time to focus on my schoolwork. Kaden and I had decided to return to hunting full-time ever since the Devil's Gate was opened. No one really knew what had happened, but I had my suspicions. After hearing about all the weird stuff going in Nebraska, we headed straight there.

"So my guess is that these are the Seven Deadly Sins. I mean, Pride....Lust....what else could it be?" Kaden asked. We'd always had a very practical approach to hunting and never stopped studying the lore, even when we took a hiatus to focus on our schoolwork. 

I nodded slightly, "I think you're right. Starving to death in front of a TV....eating yourself to death....I think we're dealing with some big bads here."

My best friend nodded, his blond hair falling in his face slightly. "And those FBI agents they mentioned? Do you think--"

I could tell he didn't want to bring it up so I just nodded, "For sure."

"So...." He looked at me cautiously, his blue eyes seemed to bore into mine, "you believe all the rumors, then? That the Winchester's opened the Devil's Gate?"

I shrugged, "As much as I hate to defend them....I don't think they would ever do something like that. Maybe they were just in the wrong place at the wrong time, you know? And knowing them, they won't stop until they've fixed it. So, yeah." I nodded resolutely, "Yeah, it's them."

Kaden didn't look too happy about that which was understandable given the circumstances. We had spent about two years hunting in a group with the eldest Winchester while Sam was away at college. I had also spent quite a few years hunting with the boys when we were younger. I can't say that I know them perfectly, but I know them well enough to know that they would do anything for their family. I had a crazy feeling that this whole Devil's Gate problem was actually a Winchester problem. "Well...if it really is them...just promise me you--"

"I'm fine, Kaden. It's been years. Water under the bridge." He didn't look convinced at my response but he stayed silent as we pulled up to the house. We were clearly late to the party. I exchanged looks with Kaden before we ran inside without a second thought.

D E A N 

Not gonna lie, things weren't going the way I'd planned. Lust had somehow cornered me in a bedroom of all places and the holy water was only five feet away. I could feel her working her creepy magic on me but it wasn't anything I couldn't handle. I just had to get her to the bathroom. So I just pretend she's winning. I took a deep breath and leaned in for the kiss but I was quickly interrupted by the door slamming open. I could've taken the opportunity to get away from the demon, but I was far too distracted with what I saw. 

The sunlight pouring in from the window was enough to make her brown hair shine. Her blue eyes were fierce and intense. My breath hitched in my throat, I hadn't seen her in years. Before either of us could move, Audrey had knocked Lust to the other side of the room.

Man, it is good to have her back.

She shook her head, "I knew it was the two of you behind all of this."

I flashed a smirk in her direction, "You know me, Sweetheart. I like a challenge."

"Screw you, Dean."

A low laugh came from the corner of the room, "Fascinating." We turned around to see Lust back on her feet, a mischievous look in her eye. "Can you feel that? The energy is almost palpable. And I can promise you that I had nothing to do with it."

She tilted her head slightly and my heart sped up. My throat dried as images flooded my mind of grabbing Audrey and pulling her to the bed behind us. Not the time, Dean. I can fight her. I squeezed my eyes shut and pushed the thoughts from my mind. We were too close to let Lust win now. I signaled to Audrey and we moved at the same time. Coming at her from both directions allowed us to catch her off guard. I left Audrey in the room to guard and dragged the demon to the bathroom. 

The longer I was near her, the stronger the urge was to turn back and make a move on Audrey. It was as if she could hear my thoughts....she started laughing, "C'mon, Dean," She taunted, "You've wanted her for so long and she's right in the other room."

I fought against every bone in my body that screamed to act on my impulses by focusing on Sam. Everyone is counting on me downstairs. That was enough for me to finish the job. Thankfully, I could feel my heartbeat return to normal as Lust passed out on the floor. I took a deep breath and prepared to see Audrey again now that my mind was completely clear.

But she was gone by the time I came back. I groaned in frustration. The whole thing was just Lust messing with my head. That's so messed up. 

I tied up the demon for good measure before carrying her downstairs to the main fighting ground. That's where I found Bobby, Sam, and.....Kaden? There were five bodies lying around them on the ground. I cursed under my breath. If Kaden is here....it must mean that Audrey had actually been there too. She probably just left before I had the chance to talk to her. I threw the demon into the pile and looked around, "Where is the last one?"

"Audrey's on it." Kaden answered, clearly unhappy to see me, "And I'm almost positive that you volunteered for Lust....so it must be Wrath that she's taking out."

His words stung. He's positive I volunteered for Lust? What a childlike thing to say. I glared back at him preparing to attack, but Bobby beat me to it, "Enough, boys. We've got seven demons to exorcise here."

I rolled my eyes and took a seat by Sam who weakly patted my back. He's the only one who really understood everything that had gone down. It was such a mess I could not be more grateful that at least one person understood. Bobby had started the first exorcism when Audrey walked in carrying a man bridal style. "Lucky number seven?" She announced with a weak smile and dropped him to the floor.

Sam smiled at her, "It's good to have you back, shortstop."

"We're not back, Sam. We're here to clean up your mess then we're gone. I have a life I have to get back to."

"I get that. I do have a quick question for you, though." I was super impressed at how Sam was handling Audrey's sass.

She must have been too because she just nodded at him to continue. He just went for it by asking her if she had ever heard of a weapon that could kill demons. Her brow furrowed and she tugged at a piece of her hair, "Like...besides the Colt?"

He nodded, "Yeah. Maybe...a knife?"

"That would be awesome, Sam. But there's nothing else I can think of."

"Alright. One last question....how would one get out of a deal with a demon?"

I glared at my brother and prayed that over the last few years our friend had become dumber than she used to be. He was being so on the nose, though, she was bound to find out. She leaned back against the wall and folded her arms, her hard-set gaze shifted between me and Sam. "Why would one of you ever make a deal with a demon? You two are dumb, but you're not that dumb." Her eyes locked to mine and she glared, "Dean." Then she just sighed, "Dean, why would you sell your soul?"

I ignored her question and jumped up to help Bobby with the demons' bodies. Very few had survived the possession. The longer I could avoid Audrey the better. She was literally going to kill me.

As Bobby and I walked away from the building I could hear Sam trying to talk her into staying to fight with us. I shook my head. If he was actually successful in that we wouldn't last a day. "You could just talk to her, y'know." Bobby grunted as we started digging the grave.

I snorted, "Yeah right, Bobby. You know I'm the last person she wants to see."

"Well, son. You're the one who keeps complaining about how you're running out of time. You should fix things with her before then."

"It's not happening, Bobby. She hates me and I have less than a year left." I shook my head, "It doesn't matter anyway."

He shook his head but didn't say anything else. We finished the grave and dropped two bodies in when Audrey's laugh rang out from the house. As we walked back, it was obvious that she was enjoying herself. My grip on the shovel tightened automatically as we stepped inside to see her and Sam. They were sitting together at the table, talking and laughing. I rolled my eyes and grabbed the next body. 

"Y'know there are three of you. If you'd each grab a body we'd be done by now." Bobby growled at the two sitting down. I watched them exchange a look before Sam stood up and offered a hand to help her up. I scoffed and headed outside before I could make another sarcastic comment that would drive her away. This is ridiculous. She shouldn't be here anyway.

"If you don't mind me asking, how did y'all find out about this case? I mean, you were studying to be a doctor. What caught your attention?" This was the first time I had actually felt jealous of Sam's soft voice. He just understood people. He knew how to connect and he earned people's trust really quickly.

I heard a soft sigh escape from Audrey, "Yeah, well...no one really missed when the Devil's Gate was opened. Kaden took it as a sign that we never should have quit hunting. He's found so many cases that I think I might have to quit school for good."

Well, the two of them did have a lot in common. I finished my part of cleaning up and headed back to the Impala. Bobby talked to me about omens to look out for and he was off. I took a look at Kaden's car and laughed. He still drove a Ford Truck. White, of all colors. Weak. I placed a gentle hand on my baby and looked up to see the three stooges finally make their way over. "They're coming with us, Dean."

My heart stopped, "What?"

Kaden scoffed and headed to his truck while Audrey crossed her arms over her chest and lifted her chin in defiance, "I'm not thrilled about it either, pretty boy. But Sam needs all the help he can get."

I glared at my brother again before looking back to the other two, "Look. No one here is in immediate danger, and we work alone. So--"

"Dean, I'm not stupid. I know you made a deal. We might be able to help you figure it out."

"You can't just flash a smile at the demon and expect everything to be okay."

Anger flashed in her eyes, "Listen up, douch---"

Sam grabbed her arm and they whispered intensely to one another for a while. I rolled my eyes and flipped Kaden off behind my back. I knew he was sending me dirty looks, I could feel it. Finally, they finished talking and she went straight to the ugly truck without looking in my direction. "Come on, Dean. I worked on her for over an hour just to get you a shot at a second chance. Don't ruin this."

"Whatever, Sam. She hates me."

"No, she doesn't. Just...be gentle."

I groaned and stared at the sky for a good minute, "I cannot believe you brought those two back into this."

Sam just shrugged, "Maybe they can help. Let's just give this a shot."

I didn't say anything, I just got in the car and turned the radio on as loud as I could.


	2. The Story of Us

~~~~Flashback~~~~

It was a strange idea, but it was working so far. Kayden, Eli, and I were a power team. We travelled the country, looking for any chance we could to save others from the supernatural. It was about two months ago that we had run into Dean Winchester on a ghost hunt and we joined forces. We spent the weekend chilling which was a very rare opportunity. We were crashing at a hotel room and I was taking advantage of the free breakfast.

"Okay, so what was going on the other day?"

"What do you mean," I asked my other brother as I grabbed three bagels.

He just glared at me, and with my brother’s piercing blue eyes it was kind of intimidating, "Come on, Audrey. I'm not blind. Kaden is totally into you.”

“Sure, Eli. And I’m the Queen of England. We’re just close, you know that. The real question is what is our next case?”

I smiled up at him innocently and took a yogurt. “You know, Audrey….hunting isn’t the most important thing in the world. You should think about school, a family, a life?”

My brother was super on the ball. He’d graduated in Business Management and married his high school sweetheart who had three years left of service with the Marines. We sat down at a table and I shrugged, “You know I’ll head back to school as soon as I feel like the world is safe.”

“Don’t count on that. The world’s a pretty crappy place.” I perked up at Dean’s voice and gave him a mock impressed look.

“Wow, Dean! This is early for you.”

He smirked at me, “’Course. I can’t stay away from you, Sweetheart.” He leaned over me and stole some bacon from my plate.

“I don’t know if you’re talking to me or the breakfast food.”

He winked at me and turned to my brother, “Alright, Eli. Where are we headed today?”

“I haven’t found anything. Have you?”

Dean shrugged, “There might be a case up in Montana, but I haven’t decided yet.”

We all had our roles in the group. Usually, Kaden was the ringleader. He’d find cases, create battle strategies and what not. Dean and Eli were the brawn of the operation. I was often the people person. When I wasn’t undercover then I was studying the lore. Dean seemed to like going undercover because he’d been accompanying me most of the time. And, hey, I wasn’t going to complain. Having backup was always great, especially when the backup was as skilled as Dean. Plus, he would drive me in the Impala, and he was always great company. We’d bonded over practically everything.

“Maybe we should check it out just in case.”

“Yeah?” Dean asked, “We might be able to put your skills to the test.” Over time, Dean started teaching me some hunting techniques. My parents died when I was pretty young, so Bobby raised me. However, he did not want me a part of the hunter life for a long time, so I was behind on skills. Eli had caught up incredibly fast.

“Sounds like a plan to me,” Eli agreed. “Let’s go.”

Bobby called Eli for help on a case and we had finally decided that we would split up. Dean and I would take the Impala to Montana and work on the case there while Kaden and Eli took the truck to Bobby’s. Dean and I took out a wraith that day and spent the night on the roof of a hotel. “You made some really good calls back there. You must have a really good teacher.”

I scoffed, “I mean, I do. But that was all me back there. My amazing teacher got knocked out in two minutes.”

“Hey, there is a time in every Padawan’s journey where they rise above their master.”

I couldn’t help the laugh that escaped me, I knew he was being 100% sincere, but it was just super adorable. “No one would guess it looking at you, but you are the geekiest person I know.”

“Ah, so you admit that I’m good looking.”

I gasped, “You—” He broke out in laughter and I shoved his arm, “You are impossible!”

Our laughter died down after a minute or two and he looked up to the sky, “Do you really think that we could have a normal life after all of this?”

“I mean…Eli is doing a great job at it.”

“Yeah, but Eli is a big boss guy with no responsibilities and a wife who is out of the country. So, is he really doing it?”

“You have a point.” We sat in silence for a while. “I would like to have a normal life. Be a doctor. Have a family.”

Dean nodded, “I think I’m out of options now. Maybe I’d just be a mechanic or something.”

“You’re acting like that’s dumb. Why?”

“Not that it’s dumb….it’s just not a doctor or lawyer or anything.”

“Well what am I going to do when my car breaks down? If you think about it, Mechanics really make the world go round. AND you save lives by making vehicles safe.”

He laughed, “You’re cute.”

I shrugged, “I try.” I watched him with a soft smile. He looked so cute when he wasn’t carrying the weight of the world on his shoulders. “I can totally see you as a mechanic.”

“Yeah?”

“Yeah, you’d be a super-hot mechanic.”

He laughed again which sparked a fluttery feeling in my stomach, “And you’d make a very sexy doctor.”

That’s it. This is where I die. I tried to shrug off the compliment, “If I live long enough to finish med school. How is Sam, by the way?”

Dean frowned and I wondered if I shouldn’t have said anything, “Good. Probably. He doesn’t say much to me.”

“I mean, he’s just like all of us, right? Just trying to find out who he is and where he belongs?”

He sent me a meaningful look and placed a hand on mine, “I think I found where I belong.”

And just like that, the fluttery feeling was back. I bit my lip slightly and I could’ve sworn he looked at my lips. Before he could make a move, his phone started ringing. He cleared his throat and answered it, “Hey, man.”

I took a few deep breaths to calm myself down while he was talking. I had to be imaging it all, right? Dean doesn’t feel that way towards me. “Nah, we’re good. It was a wraith, but you should’ve seen your sister, man. She was on fire.” He winked at me and I smiled. Maybe he was right, maybe we’d already found where we belong.


	3. Life is a Highway

A U D R E Y

I'd told myself that I'd forgiven Dean, but he was not making it very easy. I tugged at the hair that had fallen in front of my eyes. Eyeballing the small stack of books to my left made me frustrated beyond belief. How the heck am I supposed to solve Dean's problems when I don't even know what Dean's problems are?

A soft knock came at the door, "Yeah?"

To my surprise, both boys walked into our hotel room. I took a quick glance at Kaden who was, luckily, fast asleep. He probably hated Dean even more than I did. “You’re still awake,” Sam commented, looking over at the various piles of books I had made on the floor.

“That’s a sign of a real hunter.”

I shrugged, “Or a med student. I’m just trying to learn as much as I can on the subject of demon deals.

Dean looked taken aback, but he quickly hid behind a smirk, “Awe. You do care.”

“Sam seems pretty desperate. Although, knowing any sort of details would help a ton…”

The boys exchanged looks and we sat in silence for a little too long before Sam sighed and sent me an empathetic look, “Maybe another time. A lot went down since you left.”

I hummed, “It’s like the two of you need a babysitter constantly.”

“For the record, Ellen and Bobby were with us the entire time,” Dean threw his hands up in defense and I rose a suspicious eyebrow at him.

“Sure….I know for a fact that neither of them would let you get into this mess.” I leaned back against my bed frame and tapped my chin, “My guess is that you made a deal behind their backs to save Sam.” I looked at them expectantly, but they didn’t react. Bingo. “Alright, then. I guess you can fill me in on the details tomorrow.

Sam smiled at me, “We really do appreciate you tagging along, Audrey. It means a lot.”

I shrugged again, “What are friends for? I’ll see you later.” Just like that, I was left alone again. I hadn’t read much that could help us yet, but I was so motivated. Every fiber of my being told me to keep fighting. There had to be a way out of this deal. And I felt bad for Dean. As annoying as he is, he isn’t dumb. There is no way he would have made the deal unless it was absolutely necessary.

But then again, Dean and I could barely stay in the same room for five minutes before making jabs at each other. I should not have agreed to help them. What an idiot.

“Let me get this straight. We have to pack everything up and make a two day drive up to Indiana because you want to get laid?” I was beyond furious. We had been searching for a hunt for about a week now and every second of free time I had was spent researching Hell and demons. Now Dean wanted to run around and rendezvous with his old girlfriend and we’re just going to let him?

“Hey, she’s not just any girl, okay? She’s a yoga instructor,” Dean explained with a smirk as if that somehow made all of this better. Mentally I counted to ten to stop myself from socking him in the face. This is part of the reason I stopped hunting with him in the first place. “Besides, I think there is a case waiting for us there. Listen to this:” He went on to describe a series of murders that, admittedly, sounded like our kind of thing.

Kaden was glaring at me I could feel it. “You aren’t going to let him get away with this, are you?”

I studied Dean’s face for a minute before throwing my hands into the air, “Whatever. If there’s even a chance at a case I will go. It beats sitting here forever.”

“Sweet. Meet you at the car in five.” He walked away leaving me to face the wrath of my best friend.

“Okay, Audrey. What the heck?”

I sighed, “I’m a sucker for a sob story, Kay. You know me.”

“Yeah, and in normal circumstances, that’s totally okay. But with Dean? After everything he’s done to you?”

Kaden’s face was red and nearing the purple range. I smiled weakly at him, “Kill ‘em with kindness?”

He just chuckled and shook his head, “You’re too nice for your own good.”

“You know you love it.”

He grabbed my hips, pulling me closer to him, “You have no idea.”

I laughed uncomfortably and patted his chest before heading to the room and grabbing my gear. Kaden had been acting super weird for a while. At first, it was endearing, but it was borderline creepy at this point.

Whatever, he’s my best friend. He’s probably just being overprotective. When we got to the Impala the boys were ready to go. Kaden slid in first and I smirked to myself. I may have given Dean his way, but I was not going to let him off that easy. I got in his car and shut the door a little too forcefully. “So, Dean. Wanting to revisit an old flame seems like your deal is up pretty soon.”

He was silent, not moving his eyes from the road. I had initially thought he’d been given ten years, but now I was thinking around five. Maybe less with how doom-and-gloom he was acting.

Then I remembered everything that happened between us and how I was now dropping everything to help him. This is ridiculous, "You know what? I don't think it's cool to drag us around to solve your problems while you just continue living life as normal. I deserve to at know what's going on at least."

"We don't need your help," Dean snapped back, "I've made my bed and I will lie in it. I just want to enjoy what little time I have left." This made no sense! Why was Sam begging me to come along when Dean obviously couldn't care less? "In fact, I would love to spend that time without you anywhere near me."

"Okay that's--"

I cut Kaden off with a scoff, "You're always so quick to remind me how useless I am. Need I remind you of--"

"Okay, that's enough," Sam cleared his throat, "Dean, we need Audrey here. I think she is the only person who can get us through this." Then he turned to me, "What's going on is personal to Dean. If he doesn't want to share the details then you need to respect that."

I glared out my window, upset that I had agreed to help them. We drove the entire way to Indiana in silence which was, as you can imagine, absolutely awful. And even worse than that, our first day in Indiana was off to a rocky start.

“Okay, I totally understand you helping them out and looking into the lore or whatever…. But why are you going to such extremes? We can do our own cases. We can go back to our own lives.”

“I don’t know, Kaden. Sam begged for my help. It didn’t seem like a little thing to him so I’m doing all I can to help him.”

“Sure,” He scoffed, “And this has nothing to do with that thing between you and Dean?”

I blinked at him, genuinely confused, “What ‘thing’? We can barely stand each other.”

He stared on as if he could see into my soul, “Come on, Audrey. You and I both know you aren’t that dumb.”

Ouch. “Whatever. I’m trying to do a good thing. He definitely doesn’t deserve my help. But I don’t think he deserves to suffer in hell either.”

“We are in danger as long as we’re with the guy.”

Now that made me think. He had a point. Dean had put all of our lives at risk. He had done some terrible things. Who’s to say he wouldn’t do so again? “I trust Sam. He won’t let Dean hurt us.”

“Okay so maybe you are that dumb. Whatever, Audrey. If you want to be all buddy-buddy with these guys---the people who opened Devil’s Gate, by the way---you can deal with the consequences.”

Chills ran through my spine. His tone was…different. Threatening almost. “Everyone deserves a second chance.”

“Second chance, are you crazy?” He was full-on screaming now and he threw a lamp to the ground. “This guy murdered your brother in cold blood. Why are you being such an idiot?”

I grabbed the book I was reading and headed straight for the door, “You would want me to do the same for you. I owe it to Sam and Dean to try.”

I ran out the door as fast as I could, taking deep breaths to calm myself down. There was so much going on that it was straight-up overwhelming. I started walking with no destination in mind and just reminisced on the time I would have done anything for the eldest Winchester.


	4. End of the Road

FLASHBACK PART TWO

Dean was practically reenacting his favorite episode of Scooby-Doo which had me in stitches. He did an imitation of Daphne’s voice while striking the most ridiculous pose ever. I almost fell off the bed from laughter.

“Okay some of us are super busy and would appreciate some peace,” Kaden yelled from the coffee table which prompted a mocking face from Dean. I bit my lip to keep from bursting.

“Oh, c’mon, Kaden. Don’t you think Dean makes a pretty hot Daphne?” Dean threw a pillow at Eli who caught it with a laugh, “Hey, man. You’re the one who did it.”

“I’d cast you as Daphne in a heartbeat. You even kinda look like her,” I said with a shrug.

“Oh, you’d cast me as Daphne cause I look like her,” Dean mocked me and stuck his tongue out before full on attacking me with a tickle fight.

I yelped in surprise and did all I could to fight him off, but I didn’t stand a chance. Once he pinned my arms over my head, I knew it was over. “Okay, o-o-okay! I’-I’m so-sorry.”

“Well, now you are, anyway.” He glared at me suspiciously, so I flashed an innocent smile at him.

Kaden cleared his throat, “So about the vampire nest—”

I managed to wrap my leg around Dean’s waist and flipped him over on the bed, pinning him with my arm for extra measure. Ironically, a move that Dean himself had taught me, “Pinned ya.”

My stomach was exploding with anticipation at this point. We had never been this close to each other. His eyes sparkled with mischief as a smirk grew on his face. I couldn’t take my gaze off his eyes and I guess that was my downfall. Dean pressed a kiss to my nose at the same time that my brother decided to throw the pillow back in our direction.

“Oy, can’t y’all keep your hands off each other when Kaden and I are around?”

My internal temperature was at unsafe levels. I rolled off of my friend and sat up sending an innocent look in my brother’s direction. “Yes, sir.”

He just shook his head with a knowing smile while Dean sat up next to me, “Yes. About the case.”

I giggled a bit which was not a great idea. I could tell Kaden was already upset with us, “I was just going to say that Dean’s been wanting to lead a case for a while and this seems like a good one for him to take.”

That was huge news. Kaden was a complete control freak. Two years of hunting in our little group and he never once let anyone help him whatsoever. Everything had to be his idea or else he wasn’t on board. Of course, we had been watching this nest for weeks and it was a pretty small one. Dean and I exchanged a look. I shrugged at him and he turned back to Kaden with a grin, “I’m down. Let’s go waste some vampires.”

While Dean and Kaden scoped out the nest, Eli and I took a trip to get some dead man’s blood. It was not easy, but we were walking back to the hotel room and it was pretty peaceful. “You know what, Audrey? Maybe I was wrong.”

I gasped, “You? Wrong? Never.”

He shoved my arm, “I’m trying to be nice for once.”

“I’m listening.”

“You just….you seem happy here, Audrey. I’ve been pushing you pretty hard about getting back to school and moving on, but I think you were right. The evil never really goes away. And I think you might have found your future already.”

I knew what he was implying. It was pretty obvious that Dean and I had something going on. We were practically inseparable, and we knew each other inside and out. But I fought off a smile and shrugged, “Hunting doesn’t pay the bills.”

“Maybe not, but you can figure things out. The most important thing is that you’re happy.”

We walked in silence for a while. I reflected on our lives and how messy everything was. Eli and I had always been close. He taught me how to ride my bike, he helped me through getting bullied in seventh grade, and he was even my inspiration for becoming a doctor. “Are you happy, Eli?”

I was surprised when he paused. He looked up at the sky for a little bit before answering, “Yeah. I am. I’m just excited to start the next chapter of my life. I miss Allison like crazy. I want to just settle in and start a family, you know?”

I nodded, “Hey, one year to go! You’ve handled it like a champ.”

“Just cause I’ve been with the three of you.”

We had finally reached the hotel and I smiled, “Alright, Eli. Rapid fire. What’s the worst monster to hunt?”

“Witch. What’s the best day of the week?”

“Sunday, duh. Ugliest person you’ve ever met?”

Eli broke into laughter as he opened the door to our hotel room, “Come on!”

“It’s called rapid fire, Eli. It means you have to say the first thing you think of.”

“Alright. You. By far.”

I clicked my tongue and hit the back of his head before holding up the satchel to the boys who were sitting in the room, “We’ve got the goods, boys.”

Kaden took the bag from me, “Great job, guys. This’ll be a walk in the park.”

“Yeah, we’ll go tomorrow when they’re asleep,” Dean announced, showing us a drawing of the building. “There are only nine of them so we’ll split up. Elijah and I will come in from the East on the first floor. Kaden and Audrey will come from the second floor on the Westside.”

“Sounds like a plan to me,” Eli said sitting on the bed. “Any requests for dinner?”

It had been a while since I’d hunted a vampire. I absolutely hated killing them, it was disgusting. “Alright, Kaden. You’ve got to take most of these guys cause…ew.” I literally shivered in disgust.

He laughed, “I’ve got you. We’ll be in and out in no time.”

We had got to the second floor without a problem and now we were trying to get a look inside. I motioned to Kaden to head inside and he nodded. I turned the corner to find two vampires that.....were definitely not asleep. “Uhm…hi!” I forced a smile before the first vamp took a swing at me. I cursed under my breath and sidestepped, sweeping my leg under his to trip him. I cut off his head and turned my attention to the second one, but Kaden had gotten to her just in time. “Geez, Kaden. I swear these guys are supposed to sleep all day.”

His brow furrowed, “They must have been tipped off.”

We scouted the upstairs and confirmed we were alone before heading downstairs to help the other two. I could hear a lot of fighting going on and that freaked me out. I ran as fast as I could which, I’ll admit, was a rookie mistake. Someone grabbed me around the waist and moved my hair from my neck.

I screamed. No way am I letting this guy turn me into a freak of nature. I kicked back as hard as I could, but I didn’t make any contact. The vamp placed a hand over my mouth, so I put all my energy into flailing around. I even tried biting his hand, but nothing happened. It took all I had to keep him from opening a wound on me.

Finally, the vamp fell to the ground. I sighed of relief and thanked Kaden who was checking me for wounds. “Kaden, we don’t have time.” The sounds were getting louder and it was seriously concerning. We had killed at least three vamps that I knew of, that should have only left six or less to the boys. I felt like the boys could have handled that, but it totally sounded like they were failing. I snuck over to a crate and peered over it to see at least ten vamps. I cursed again, “What the—”

“There is no way these guys weren’t tipped off. There were only nine of them, we’ve been watching them for weeks.”

“Well, we’ve got to go help them.” Again, being completely dumb, I rushed in. Using the element of surprise, I was able to get three vamps before blacking out.

I was beyond confused when I came to, but I knew I was tied to a beam of some sort. I frantically looked around to gauge the severity of the situation. We had taken out enough vampires that we should be able to make it out in time. Dean was across from me tied to the other beam. Kaden was tied to a chair on the right. And my brother….my brother was knocked out on the floor. I shot a questioning look to Dean who ignored me. He was watching the two remaining vamps circle the floor. “Oh, good. The girl’s awake, we can start.”

“You know, the three of you actually stood a chance before. Luckily, our good friend Dean called in and gave us the news. We were able to get enough of our family here to survive.” I looked at Dean in shock, there’s no way that he would have tipped off a couple of Vamps, he hated them. But he just looked enraged.

“Unfortunately, they’ve all been murdered. So, our deal will have to end. You will all die, starting with the girl.”

“I don’t know what you’re talking about, but we—" Dean was cut off by my brother’s scream.

“ELI?!?!” My brother was awake now and writhing in pain.

“Oh, yes.” The taller vamp that looked like Mark Ruffalo had walked over to my brother with a sick smile, “We were able to successfully turn one of your kind as well.”

My stomach fell. This could not be happening. This was supposed to be a milk run! “You’re lying!” I yelled.

The shorter vamp smirked at me, “You could join him if you’d like. We’d enjoy having a pretty little plaything like you around.”

I spat in his face just as Dean was able to break free from his binding. He killed the vamp that was taunting me before five more vamps came from the shadows. After everything we had been through, I never guessed it would be vampires to take me out. Luckily, Dean was able to untie Kaden before rushing into battle.

Kaden untied me and I ran straight to my brother. In one movement I killed the vampire standing above him. “Eli! Eli, are you okay?” They had definitely turned him, he had fangs. I gagged and helped him to his feet. “Shoot, Eli. We were supposed to win this one.” Tears pricked my eyes and I couldn’t do anything to stop them from falling.

He chuckled, “You can’t win ‘em all, sis.” He placed his hands on my face, “We have to help the team. But never forget how much I love you, okay?”

I nodded through my tears and he pressed a kiss to my forehead before running into the group. I wiped my tears with my sleeve and headed toward the nearest vamp. This was not going to end well for us. After this, we would have to….I didn’t let myself think about the future. Eli could fight it. He would be able to do it for Allison. He didn’t have to go out this way.

I managed to take out the vamp before turning back to the group, sighing of relief when I realized there was only one vamp left. We made it. We can make things work.

Then Dean took out the last vamp and my brother in one strike. A short scream escaped my lips as I ran to my brother. “ELI!!! ELIJAH?!?!” It was no use, no one comes back from that. I grabbed his chest and broke down in sobs. Not only was he gone forever, but his body wasn’t even intact. He had died in one of the most gruesome ways ever. I couldn’t feel anything but horror, the past ten minutes kept replaying in my mind as my heart broke over and over.

I felt someone put their arm around my shoulders, “Audrey…”

I hit Dean’s arm off me and pushed him to the wall, “You don’t get to say a-anything, D-dean! We cou—we could’ve saved him!!!”

“I was surrounded, I—”

“No, there is no excuse! You just murdered my brother, Dean! You made some kind of deal with these guys and you—”

“Audrey, listen to me! We would have had to kill him anyway; this was probably the best—”

I scoffed, I couldn’t even see through my tears at this point, “Are you even hearing yourself?!?!”

Kaden pulled me away from Dean by my waist. He didn’t say anything, he just wrapped me up in a hug. My last few memories with Eli came flooding back and I just sobbed into Kaden’s chest for the next hour at least. By the time I looked up, Dean was nowhere to be found. Kaden walked me to his truck and headed back to get Eli’s body. This was unreal.

We burned my brother’s body that night and I wrote out a plan of how to tell Allison what happened. She was going to be home in a year. They were going to start a family. While thinking about it all, I began to cry. I cried so hard that I fell asleep.

I woke up feeling like crap. The only thing I wanted was a hug from my brother. I just couldn’t imagine why Dean would do any of that, why would he make a deal with vampires? Why would he kill my brother right in front of me? None of it made sense. That wasn’t the Dean I knew.

I took a deep breath. Maybe Dean had just got caught up in the fight and didn’t realize what was happening. Maybe the vampires just saw Dean staking out and called for reinforcements then lied about some stupid deal. It was wrong of me to blame Dean without even hearing his side of the story. Relief flooded through me. I didn’t have to go through this without Dean. He’d help me get over it, he knows me. He loves me.

After getting ready, I snuck out of the room without waking Kaden and headed over to the room that Dean and Eli had been sharing. I took a deep breath once more before knocking on the door. The door opened a crack, “Oh, Audrey! Give me just a sec.”

The door shut again, and I chuckled to myself a bit, he’s gotta make himself pretty for me, how sweet. Thankfully, that helped me to calm down. Things don’t have to change. We can get through this together.

When the door opened again, Dean slipped out shutting the door quickly behind him. “What’s up?”

I frowned slightly, “Actually, can we go inside? It’s kind of a private thing. And I don’t want Kaden to wake up either.”

“Uh… I mean, the hallway is perfectly fine. Or we could just go outside.” He nodded as if he’d convinced himself, “Yeah, outside is good.”

Uh oh. “Come on, Dean. It’s not like you have anything to hide.” I reached around him to reach the door, “Besides, I need my brother’s stuff anyway.”

He blocked me from the door, pulling it shut before I could open it, “Yeah, okay. Let me just..” My brow furrowed as I stared at him. What the….?

Finally, he opened the door with a sigh, and I followed him into the room. He stayed back in the entryway as I walked into the room, “I just wanted to—-hi!” And it suddenly made sense. Dean had a girl stay the night.

“Hi, I’m Caitlyn. I’m heading out right now, don’t worry about me.”

I gave her a polite smile, “No, I’m the one intruding. I’m sorry.”

She shrugged it off and headed out, kissing Dean and whispering in his ear before leaving. As soon as the door shut, I started laughing. “Audrey..”

“Just pour salt in the wound, why don’t you?”

“Look, I needed to blow off steam last night—”

“Yeah, no. I get it. I just came to give you a chance to explain yourself, but it’s clear that I don’t really mean as much to you as I thought and maybe I’ll just go.”

He groaned, “I went to the bar after everything went down. It’s how I cope with the dark side of hunting.”

“Yeah, well I needed you with me, Dean.” He didn’t answer, but he came closer. “Do you even care for anything at all outside of yourself?”

“You know that’s not fair.”

“Do I? Dean, you made some deal with a vampire nest. You killed my brother.”

He threw his hands in the air, “They turned Eli! He was a monster and he had to be killed before he went crazy!”

I gaped at him, “Dean that’s my brother! He wasn’t a monster.”

“No. No, it’s better that I killed him when I did, or else you never would have let him go and he would’ve torn himself apart.”

I clenched my fists and pressed my eyes closed, trying to calm down. But the tears just came pouring out again. “So, when we were having a funeral for my brother, you were sleeping with a stranger?”

“I told you I needed something to relieve the stress!”

“And I told you that I needed you!!”

“I would have been there for you after I was able to digest everything that happened.”

I didn’t even know what to say at this point, “Whatever, Dean. I’m taking my brother’s stuff and then you’ll never see me again.” I leaned over to grab Eli’s bag, and Dean grabbed my wrist.

“Why are you being so dramatic about all this? It was just a girl!”

I pulled my wrist from him, “Yeah, we’re all just girls to you, aren’t we?”

“What are you talking about?”

“Okay, one more time. You schemed with monsters and then killed my brother. You went out and found some girl to spend the night with instead of being there for me---”

He groaned, “I did what I had to do."

“I thought you loved me, Dean." We were both screaming at this point, I just didn't understand what wasn't connecting in his brain, "But you’re no better than the things you hunt.”

He scoffed, “You thought I loved you? Yeah, that’s insane.” Whatever was left of my heart had just been broken. I nodded and headed to the door, carrying my brother’s stuff with me. “You’re crazy! Maybe someone would actually love you if you were normal.”

I didn’t look back. I wouldn’t give him the satisfaction of knowing how badly he hurt me. I slammed his door shut, and headed straight for our bathroom where I locked myself in and slid down the wall. I screamed into my hands and then just cried everything out. I swore that day that I would never see Dean Winchester again.


	5. Better Together

A U D R E Y

I did the best that I could to keep myself from crying in the street. Maybe Dean was right, I mean I was losing everyone I’d ever loved. Now Kaden was calling me crazy. Why was I helping Dean? Was it really because Sam begged me? Was it really just out of the goodness of my heart? Maybe, deep down, I wanted closure. I wanted answers, I guess.

Maybe I didn’t know Dean as well as I thought I did, but we had spent so long together. None of this seemed right. He was always so protective and caring. Tough on the outside for sure, but he was sweet.

I had reached a park that seemed like a good place to clear my head. I followed the sidewalk for a few minutes until I saw Dean himself sitting on a bench. My mind raced about what to do, but I finally decided to take the chance. I mean, it had to be fate, right? As quietly as possible, I took a seat next to him.

“He was dead.” Dean’s voice made me jump.

“Sorry?”

“Sam.” He looked at me with tears in his eyes, “Sam was dead. I couldn’t stand it; I mean, he’s needed in the world much more than I am. And after losing Dad…..I did whatever it took to save Sammy.”

“Dean---”

“And one year was the most any demon would give me.”

I gasped. I knew he didn’t have long, but only one year? That was way worse than what I imagined, “Dean…that’s awful.”

“The more I try to make the most of my time left the more I realize I’m just…the worst person ever.” His eyes were glued to the ground. Clearly things hadn’t gone too well with Lisa.

So many thoughts were racing through my head, but I suddenly felt a lot of pressure. He was being so open and vulnerable…..he needed someone to be his rock. Without thinking, I put my hand on his knee, “Dean. Nobody’s perfect, especially us. Being raised as a hunter gives us a whole new set of problems.” He snorted in agreement which gave me a confidence boost, “But I’m glad I met you, Dean. You and your brother mean a lot to me.” He looked at me with a soft smile that made my heart skip. “And I promise you, I won’t stop until we have found a way to save you. There is always hope, Dean. We win by keeping hope alive.”

His smile grew and he shook his head softly, “Maybe my brother knew what he was doing by dragging you back into this.”

“Well, you do need someone to balance you out, grumpy pants.”

He rolled his eyes as I laughed at him. Suddenly, a serious look crossed his face and he stared into my eyes. I felt the blood rush to my face, but I couldn’t move my eyes from his. He rested his arm on the back of the bench, pulling me closer to him. I could smell the musk of his car on him and I bit down a smile.

My senses came back when Dean’s phone started ringing. I laughed to myself. What were we doing? Having a little heart to heart? Acting as if everything was fine? I rolled my eyes and shook my head clear of the weird emotions that were going on. While Dean was talking to Sam, I grabbed my book and stood up to head back to the hotel room. “Audrey!”

I turned back to Dean, a hopeful feeling bubbling in my chest. “Could you swing by our hotel room later? I think we need your help with this case.” I nodded with a smile and headed off, excited at the possibility of starting over.

D E A N

“Changelings, it’s got to be. They can take the form of children,” Audrey was pacing at the front of the room and the movement was making my head hurt. “I just read about this.”

“Great, so how do we kill them?” I asked, hoping it wouldn’t be too bad. I had seen a couple of weird kids at the park and the news just kept turning out bizarre situations involving children. We even found a weird suction mark on the back of a woman’s neck.

Audrey was pulling at a piece of her hair for a while before spinning on her heel to face us, “Fire. We’ve gotta torch em. The real kids aren’t dead they’re just being stashed somewhere. If we can get them back to the homes before the moms are drained completely, then we can just burn the imposters.”

“Alright, let’s go.” I stood, grabbing my bag from the table.

“Wait, Dean,” Sam stopped me before I even reached the door, “We don’t have a clue on where these kids could be.”

Audrey passed Sam, patting his back on her way out, “That’s why we’ve gotta start looking.” My heart picked up at her confidence. I smirked at Sam and we headed out.

We had driven around for about twenty minutes before finding a good stake-out spot. We finally decided to stop near the park and wait for any sign of the kids.

“Dean, what exactly happened with you and Lisa?” Sam was always wanting to talk feelings and it was annoying. Especially with Audrey around.

“I don’t know. She didn’t want to see me; she doesn’t want me anywhere near here. End of story.”

Audrey shrugged, “It makes sense. I mean, you ditched her. You probably broke her heart.”

I felt a pang in my chest and tried to brush it off, “How could I break her heart? We literally spent a weekend together.”

“Well it clearly meant something to you. Did you even consider what she is feeling? Maybe Lisa was hoping for more with you.”

“Come on, you know why I had to leave her. I couldn’t just bring this life to her.”

Audrey sighed, “That’s the point, Dean. You can’t give her what she wants, but you keep teasing her with it only to leave her again.”

“I don’t see why it’s such a big deal. I just wanted to spend my last few months with her.”

“Yeah, you want to relive a weekend. She wants a family. What happens when you get dragged down to Hell, Dean? You’ll leave her devastated.” Her voice was strained now as if she was holding back tears, “Going to her now seems like the most selfish choice you could make.”

“I just want to be happy. I think I deserve that.”

She didn’t answer. I looked down and realized I was shaking. It was weird being terrible things about yourself. “You know, Dean, Audrey has a point,” Sam finally chimed into the conversation, “If your happiness comes at the expense of others, is it really worth it?”

I scoffed, “Of course it’ll be worth it, I’ll be dead.”

“Then you don’t really love her,” Audrey said. My heart sank. “And you can’t claim to because there is no way you could do something that horrible to someone you love.”

“You don’t know anything about love, Sweetheart.” As soon as the words left my lips, I knew I had messed up.

“Whatever, Dean. Do whatever you want. I’m gonna go look for these kids.” One squeaky door slam later, she was lost to the night.

I rubbed my face and rested my chin in my hand. “Dean come on. She was just trying to help you out.”

“This is my personal crap. I don’t need the two of you poking around in it.” We sat in silence for a few minutes until my guilt got the best of me. “I just don’t see why she cares.”

My brother shrugged, “She’s a nice person, Dean. She let us drag her all the way to Indiana. I’m pretty sure she studies non-stop just to find a way to save you because that’s who she is.”

“Seems like you care about her a lot, Sammy.”

“Yeah, I do. Look. You two have a ton of crap to work through, but can’t you keep it together for ten minutes?”

“I don’t know, Sam. She’s so difficult to deal with.”

He snorted, “Every relationship is a two-way street. Maybe you oug-“

He was interrupted by his phone ringing. I took a deep breath and tried to be sensible about all of this. Acting irrationally is how I lost her in the first place. And she was definitely right about Lisa, it wasn’t right for me to be so hot and cold with her. I hate how defensive I can get sometimes.

“She thinks she found them.”

A wave of relief washed over me; Ben is safe. “Well let’s go then!”

We picked Audrey up at one of the houses we had checked earlier. “I knew there was something we were missing! Check this out.” She held out a finger covered in….dirt?

“It wasn’t blood,” Sam breathed.

She shook her head, excited, “This is from the construction site! That’s where the kids are.”

Wow. It was kind of ridiculous how good she was at hunting, but I was thankful. We would seriously be lost without her.


	6. Before You Go

A U D R E Y

“Well, this is exciting. What’s up?” I had just finished combing through my wet hair when Dean knocked on the hotel door.

“Can we…?” He gestured outside and I followed him with a nod.

We were able to save the kids pretty easily which was great. I even got to meet Ben who was such an adorable kid. He looked just like Dean. I had been extremely exhausted afterward though. I slept until noon and I had just got ready to hit the road again.

Honestly, I was kind of nervous. I never knew what side of Dean I was going to get, and we did not have a good track record with his trip. But now he looked uncomfortable almost. Uncomfortable was not a good look on him, “Dean, what’s up?”

“You were right. About Lisa.” He shook his head, “It’s not right for me to play with her emotions like that when I’m not crazy for her, which I’m not.”

I shot him a look, “Are you sure, Dean?” From the way he talked about her it sure seemed that he was set on staying with her.

“Yeah, I’m sure. We talked earlier and I just… usually you can feel it, you know? I didn’t feel anything.” We had made it back to the park and sat down at the bench. “I guess I just wanted to apologize. I’ve been a huge jerk to you, and I don’t know how to make it right, but I know that we need you on our team. And not just to help me get out of this stupid mess. I’m clueless without you.”

I didn’t know how to react. It seemed as if one minute Dean wanted to be best friends and the next he wanted to kill me. “Dean…”

He must’ve sensed the hesitation in my voice cause he just nodded, “There is so much more I need to tell you, but now isn’t the right time. Just….trust me, we need you.”

“So, you want me to stick around…for good?” He nodded. “I hate to break it to you, but Kaden won’t be too fond of the idea.” He refused to even hunt with us the other day. I was honestly super confused about why he was even sticking around still. I mean, I guess because we didn’t bring his car.

“Yeah, well I’m not too fond of Kaden. Why are you still friends with that guy anyway? Let’s just ditch him.” I tried not to laugh, but Dean was so adamant. “He is a complete jerk to you.”

“Well, he’s all I have left.”

Dean mimicked my move from the other day by placing a hand on my thigh, “Not anymore.”

Thankfully, my phone started ringing. These moments with Dean were always so nice, but I couldn’t forgive him that easily. He still didn’t act sorry at all for what happened with my brother. “What’s up, Kaden?”

“Where are you? I think something’s going on in the Winchester’s room.”

Dean and I had run all the way back to the motel only to find Sam alone typing away on his laptop. “You okay, Sammy?” Dean asked, frantically searching around the room.

“Yeah. Why wouldn’t I be?” Sam looked at us, clearly confused.

I groaned as the realization sunk in, “Sorry boys. I think this is Kaden trying to get attention.” I ran a hand through my hair, a little embarrassed, “I guess I’d better go talk to him.”

“How about I give him a talking to,” Dean suggested, cracking his knuckles.

I laughed but declined his offer and braced myself for the storm in the next room. I spent every possible second with the Winchesters and barely even talked to Kaden. I mean, pretending that Sam was in danger seemed below him, but he’s probably pissed beyond belief.

I took a deep breath and opened the door. Immediately after, everything went black.

“Audrey, are you okay?” I could barely make out the frantic voice, my head was pounding too loud. “Come on…please tell me you can hear me.”

My head weighed a thousand pounds. I let out an involuntary groan and pressed my palm against my forehead.

Kaden sighed, “Oh my—you’re alive! How are you feeling?” I struggled to keep my eyes open, but something wasn’t right. Everything was dark, but I could make out some crates to my left. The walls and floors were cement. I had no idea where we were, but it was definitely not the motel.

“Kaden, what’s going on?” I sat up and tried to get a better look, but as far as I could tell there was no one and nothing around. “Where are the boys?”

Kaden grabbed my arm and handed me a water bottle, “I’m sure you have lots of questions, but you’ve been out for a while. You need to rest.”

I took a swig of the water and glared at him, “Kaden.”

“While you were gone, I heard some really shady stuff going on in the Winchester’s room. I went to check, and I swore I saw some lady through the window yelling at Sam. When he finally opened the door, he was alone.” He shook his head, “When I got back to our room, there were at least three demons waiting for me. One was the girl Sam was talking to.

“Of course, three demons to one Kaden was not going to end very well. I was thrown against a wall and when I came to, the girl demon was knocking you out. I tried fighting back, but they all got away in the end.” He rose an eyebrow at me, “You still trust the Winchesters?”

I didn’t know what to think. What was he implying? That Dean just distracted me for long enough that Sam could summon demons and send them to our motel room and…what? Beat us up? “But…don’t you find it odd that they just….left us?”

Kaden shook his head lightly, “I’m just as confused as you are, but I know what I saw. And I know I saw Sam talking to a demon. But whatever happened, I’m glad we got away. It’s not the first time a Winchester tried to kill us.”

Now that was a valid point. But I just didn’t know if I could believe it, ‘Huh. Well, where are we now? What’s the plan?” I chugged the rest of my water bottle, thinking through everything that he just told me.

“I grabbed our stuff, hot-wired a car, and hit the road. I didn’t want to stay there and risk getting killed. Once nightfall came, I stopped at the closest place I could find. It’s a little sketchy, but it’ll work. I just had to make sure you were okay.” He started searching me for injuries again, but I smacked his arm away.

“I’m fine. But something isn’t right here,” I thought about it for a moment, “How are you even sure they were demons?”

“I mean…one threw me to the wall and I definitely saw black eyes.”

I groaned, “I don’t get it, but my head hurts way too much to think about it.”

“Right. Yeah. You get some rest. I’ll get us somewhere safe.”

D E A N

“I’m telling you, Sammy. Something isn’t right here.”

A sigh came from my brother’s direction, “Maybe you hurt her feelings.”

“By telling her how much we needed her? I don’t think so.” I refreshed my messages one more time, worried to death. “It’s been almost four days, Sam. She didn’t leave a note or anything.”

Sam lowered his laptop screen enough to give me a look, “What exactly are you suggesting, Dean?”

I knew I was being dramatic. I knew we had an actual problem right now with dad’s cursed rabbit food. Still, I couldn’t shake the feeling that something was seriously wrong. “I think she’s in danger.”

“What about Kaden? He wouldn’t let anything bad happen to her.”

I wasn’t too sure about that. Throughout the time I had known Kaden he was never kind to me. And he had treated Audrey like his barbie doll. Knowing he was with her actually made me worry more. I mean, he baited her with a phone call and we never saw them again.

“Right,” Sam sighed again, “Tell you what. We solve this rabbit foot issue and if she hasn’t contacted us by then we will go find her. Deal?”

I nodded, “Deal.”


	7. You Will Be Found

A U D R E Y

I felt free. It was almost as if I was walking on air. I stood on the top of a hill looking over the beautiful countryside. There were flowers and trees of every kind, birds sang in the wind, and the smell of fresh-baked pie filled the air.

It was the most beautiful day I could imagine. I laid down on the grass and watched the clouds fly overhead. This is how it must feel to just enjoy life without worrying about what’s hiding in the dark. Had I ever seen the sky so blue? It was amazing. A thought popped into my head that made me smile. I couldn’t fight the impulse, so I rolled down the hill like a small child, laughing with pure joy.

I looked back up to the sky to look for shapes in the clouds but frowned when I realized they were all gone. I watched as the sky turned to gray and thunderstruck behind me. The lightness and joy that I felt quickly darkened along with the weather. Suddenly, a sharp pain ripped through my body, causing me to yell out in pain. With it came a painful memory. When I was six years old and watched my father die in the hospital.

A storm was building, but not outside. Every dark and horrible thought flooded my mind at once. Every fear I’d ever had, every repressed memory. I couldn’t hide.

The mental attack was partnered with the heaviest pain I had ever felt. I clawed at my skin and thrashed around in an attempt to stop it all. Finally, I started to cry. Is there no end? Am I going to be tortured for the rest of my life? Maybe I’ve died and this is Hell. Another wave of pain hit my side as my mother’s dying face stared back at me, the demon smirking above her.

I tried to stand up, but I had no control over my body. My limbs were weak and shaky. I searched every corner of my brain for a possible way out of this. There is always a way. There is always hope.

Wait a second…

Maybe I wasn’t dead. Maybe I was just asleep and stuck in some nightmare universe.

As I realization struck me, I was struck in my heart. Embarrassment heated up my entire body as I remembered getting beat up in sixth grade.

Please, I was sending out a silent prayer to Dean and Sam. Find me.

D E A N

We were almost to the little town of Jacksonville, Florida. My guilt was building exponentially the longer we were on the road. I let her go, I should’ve protected her.

It had been weeks since we saw her. The GPS didn’t work on her phone, so we had to try tracking Kaden’s. Luckily, he left his GPS on, so we followed the signal. We researched the area to find out that demonic activity had been going on ever since they disappeared.

It had to be a trap.

But hopefully, we had found her.

My mind was racing with the possibilities. How could the demons take two of our friends without us even knowing? Why would they even do it? I was pissed off beyond belief and ready to ice some jerks.

“Dean. We’ve got to stay calm regardless of what we see inside. I don’t want you getting hurt because you act super reckless.”

I ignored his concern, “I’m getting her back whatever it takes.”

Luckily, he didn’t answer. We pulled up to a large warehouse flanked by demons on all sides. I cursed under my breath; how long has she been stuck here?

We began fighting out way into the warehouse and memories from the past week flooded my mind.

We had finally taken care of the curse and the stupid rabbit’s foot, so I settled in for a good night’s rest. But my nightmares were waiting for me.

I was walking on the outskirts of a small town. It was seriously beautiful with small homes lined up perfectly, and a cobblestone road. I followed the path to a hill dotted with pine trees.

Before I reached the hill, the sky turned dark and Audrey’s scream ripped through the air. I wouldn’t stop pestering Sam until we got Kaden’s location and set out. Her scream still echoed in my mind.

I growled in anger and slammed the last demon to the ground. They would all pay for any harm that came to her.

Sam had a field day over my dreams, claiming it was some sort of soulmate link. I brushed him off, but it was really odd. Why had I seen this place? Why had I heard her suffering?

I pulled back to the present when Sam gestured to a door, which I wasted no time kicking in. I didn’t know what to expect, but this definitely wasn’t it. Audrey was here, but she looked terrible. If we had been any later, they might have tortured her to death. Almost every inch of her body was covered in blood and bruises.

But why would they do something like this to her?

And this was way too easy. We found their location quickly and we fought in far too easily. Something bigger was going on. I exchanged a look with Sam, and we walked into the room slowly. “Psst, guys.”

We looked over to see Kaden. He was beaten and bruised, but he looked happy to see us. Why was Audrey strapped to a table while he just sat here?

Good thing is, my brother has better people skills than me, “Kaden! We’re so glad you’re okay. What happened?”

He beckoned us over, “I’ve only just escaped. I came to save Audrey and get out.”

“How did they even take you from the motel? What did they want?” I had a million questions, but I thought I might kill the boy if I let my emotions get the best of me.

“They ambushed us in the motel room, coming from every direction. I still don’t know what they want. I assume they just wanted revenge for killing so many of their kind.”

No way. Demons always have an end goal; they’re always motivated by something. And that caused a pit in my stomach. I ran toward Audrey, there is no point in wasting time. She was freezing, but she looked peaceful. I watched as a nasty bruise formed on her jaw, “Sammy! Look at this.”

He was by my side in seconds, “She looks—” He trailed off when a large gash formed on her arm. Blood was spilling out, so I quickly shed my flannel and wrapped it around her arm to stop the bleeding.

“You know, I really didn’t think it would be this easy.” Sam and I both turned in confusion to see Kaden who had magically healed of all his wounds. Shoot. There were a couple of demons standing around us.

My blood began to boil, “What the heck, man?”

His expression was hard set. I hated the guy, but I never imagined he would work with demons. “I love her, you know. She’s been close to my heart for as long as I can remember, but you two keep showing up and ruining everything.”

“What are you talking about?” I didn’t understand how he could be this insane that he would work with monsters to get Audrey alone.

He laughed, “Everyone knows about the Winchesters. You destroy everything in your path. Those who work for you always end up dead.” My body tensed; Sam had to hold me back to stop me from attacking. “I couldn’t have that.” He was feeling high-and-mighty now, he started circling the room, “Of course, when I heard how badly the demons wanted to kill Sam it just became too easy. I couldn’t resist.”

My heart sank. Everything had been a lie. “Why is it that you had no problem betraying us? Is it cause you’ve done it before?” Sam had that look in his eye, he was on to something. “You tipped off the vampires. You are responsible for Elijah’s death, but you pinned it on Dean because you were worried about Audrey’s relationship with him!”

Of course. It all made sense now. While we were scoping out the nest, he had a little chat with the vamps which set us up for failure the next day. They were able to call in reinforcements and take us down. I took the hit for all of that, I carried around the guilt from Eli’s death for years. Kaden laughed again, “It took you long enough to figure it out. Of course, the plan didn’t work out. They were supposed to leave me and Audrey unharmed. Of course, there are drawbacks for working with monsters.”

It all became too much, “That’s not love. Look at what you’ve done to her! You killed everyone she cared about, making her feel completely alone. You’re letting her die right now!”

He shrugged, “Like I said, working with monsters has its downsides. I had to find a way to bait the two of you,” he walked over to Audrey and stroke her cheek, “And with how weak Dean is for her, I knew this was a perfect play. Once you two are dead, I can fix her easily. It will be nothing but a bad dream to her.” He smiled down at her and I snapped. I lunged at him only to be thrown to a wall by some demon. My vision went dark as my head started pounding.

“Let her go,” Sam announced, “And take me.”

Kaden shrugged as I was getting up off the floor, “And ruin all the fun? I’m gonna have fun killing you both.”

That’s when a blonde girl showed up. Sam sent me a look which I figured meant that this girl was Ruby. I didn’t like it, but she started fighting Kaden, so I ran with it. Sam and I focused our attention on the low-level demons. Once I killed the last one, I headed to the center of the room, trying to hear what they were talking about.

She held the knife up to his throat, “How do we save the girl?”

He broke into a grin, “If I can’t have her no one can.”

Anger overcame me and I punched Kaden’s face. Ruby shot me a dirty look before turning her attention back to him, “Where’s the demon that wants Sam? What is their plan?”

Kaden didn’t say another word. Instead, he ran himself into the knife. I let out a scream of frustration and threw the table behind me.

Ruby looked intense, “Grab the girl, Sam. We’ve got to go.”

“What did he do to her?” I asked, beyond furious.

She looked me in the eye, “It wasn’t a demon thing. It was a witch thing.”

Bobby was pissed when we showed up at his door. He was known for helping hunters, but Audrey is one that he took in and raised as his own. He chastised us for a while, not holding anything back. After his lecture, we took her down to the demon-proof room and took shifts watching over her. This was completely ridiculous. How could a human do so much damage to a person?

Ruby claimed it was a witch thing, but how would she know? And why didn’t she help more than that? As soon as we got Audrey to the car, Ruby disappeared. I told myself not to be so hard on her, she is the only way we got out of that situation. We just needed information and we needed it fast.

It had been a few hours and we hadn’t come any closer to finding a solution. It was late and I was quickly running out of patience. I groaned as I finished another useless book and I threw it in frustration. I couldn’t help my anger, if she died then it’s on me. I dragged her along to Indiana because I had some soft spot for her and now she’s going to die.

Bobby rose an eyebrow at me but stayed silent as Sam entered the room signaling my shift to watch over Audrey. “Guys, it’s getting pretty late. Why don’t we get some rest? We might be more effe—”

“We don’t rest until we save her, Sam.”

Sam shot me a look, “We’re no good to her dead, Dean.”

Bobby cleared his throat, “We’re so close, boys. She deserves our full attention until we figure this out. She could be lost to us at any moment.” His voice was firm and authoritative; he wasn’t going to let her go. Sam nodded and swapped out his book for a new one. I took a deep breath and headed to the basement.

She looked about the same as before. I found a new cut on her forearm, but that was about it. I sat down next to her and placed a hand on hers, “We’re gonna get you out of this. If it’s the last thing we do.”

I studied her for a while, searching my mind for any useful information. I hated to admit it, but I hadn’t slept in a while which made things much harder. In fact, I hadn’t slept since my last dream where Audrey screamed in the stormy town.

Then it hit me, maybe this connection was the only way to save her. I rested my head on her stomach and closed my eyes, listening to her heartbeat until I fell asleep.

This time I woke up in a completely different place. It looked like a cafeteria of some high school. I was seated at a table across from a younger Audrey and some boy. The boy slid close to her and placed a hand on her inner thigh. She was clearly uncomfortable and tried pushing him away, but he pulled her in by her hair to kiss her roughly. I stood up to do something when I heard my name being yelled from across the room.

Strangely enough, the scene kept playing as if nothing happened. I turned to see Audrey herself slumped against the wall. I ran to her side, running through every obstacle in my way. Clearly the connection was a real thing. This had to be her dream. “Audrey! Thank heavens. I need to talk to you.”

“Dean…how did you even get here?” This version of Audrey looked the exact same as she did before she disappeared.

I pulled her in for a hug and she winced slightly. I gently grabbed her face and searched her eyes, “We don’t have a lot of time. I need you to tell me what happened the last time you were awake. Whatever you can remember.”

She glanced at the ceiling with a furrowed brow, “It honestly feels like I’ve been trapped in this prison for years.”

“Just try your best.”

“I….I was with Kaden in a warehouse. He said he’d saved us from Sam’s friends that were also demons? It didn’t make any sense. He said we were hiding and that I needed to get some rest. I think that’s it.” She looked at me in fear, “How long have I been out?”

I shook my head, “Not long. What did he say exactly? Or do? Did he do anything to you?”

She shrugged, “I mean he gave me a drink. He mostly seemed focused on taking care of me. Why, Dean? What’s going on?”

The drink. Whatever he gave her must’ve been laced with something. Maybe we were doing the wrong kind of research. Audrey yelped out in pain and grabbed her head. “Hey, hey. You’re okay. I’m right here.” I held her again, stroking her hair. The scene began to ripple around us. I watched in horror when it was me we were looking at. Younger me and younger Audrey were having a yelling match in a hotel room.

I knew this fight. I regretted it every day of my life. I was doing what I did best, run. I ran from the problem which made it way worse. I made her think that I killed her brother, that I set us up to die, that I never cared about her. I ran off with some girl to stop the pain.

Watching it again was awful. I was reminded of all the pain and tears I had caused her. And now I knew that it was all a part of Kaden’s little plan. Shoot. I began to wonder how I would tell her about Kaden when everything started getting foggy. “Shoot. Look, I’m waking up. But we’ll get you out of here. I promise.”

She answered, but I couldn’t understand. I woke up with a start and quickly looked at my friend. Sure enough, a deep cut stretched across her forehead.


	8. I Knew You Were Trouble.

“So you’re saying that Kaden gave her some kind of….potion?” Sam seemed upset as he sorted through the books we had yet to read.

“It makes sense, doesn’t it? She was fine until he gave her some drink and she hasn’t been the same since. We’ve been looking at the wrong kind of witch stuff.”

I grabbed a book of my own and searched through the table of contents as Bobby sighed, “If this boy went ancient magic on us, you idjiots must have really pissed him off.”

That’s the thing, something was just seriously wrong with that kid. What kind of person risks his friend’s life to kill the competition? I read an entire chapter on potions, but nothing really fit the description of what was going on. At least from what we could understand. I tossed the book to the table and grabbed yet another one.

After a good half hour Bobby spoke up, “I think I’ve found it. It’s referred to as the Isolation Potion. Says here that it locks the victim in their own mind and externalizes all of their emotional pain.

I nodded, “That sounds right. Her nightmares were painful memories. Each one seems to bring a new scar, literally. How do we stop it?

“Well, there’s an antidote, but it won’t be easy to come by. She might be out for another week while we gather all of the ingredients.”

She needed us now. She could die at any moment. A full week wasn’t the best option, but at least it was something, “Let’s get started, then. We need to work as fast as we can.”

Bobby nodded in agreement, “How long has she been out? Cause there is a time limit.”

“What?” Sam and I asked in unison.

“Looks like the victim is to live one month in this prison before dying. The point is to give one a slow and painful death.”

“A month,” Sam muttered, “That only gives us…”

“A week and a half,” I cursed under my breath as Bobby started writing furiously. This is an impossible task.

He handed me a sheet of paper, “We’ll split up. Involve other hunters. Don’t give up hope, boys. She needs us.”

He didn’t have to tell me twice.

S A M

I had never seen Dean move faster. Not for pie, not for a trip to the bar, and not even for a hunt. We had found the ingredient Bobby assigned to us in less than twelve hours and we were almost back to get the next assignment. I understood Dean’s urgency, of course. He blames himself. He thinks he could have prevented it all.

I looked over to my brother who was driving in silence, intensely staring at the road in front of him. I just wanted him to talk through what was going on, “Dean, there’s no way you could have known about Kaden. He hid it very well.”

His lips tightened, “It was pretty obvious, Sam. From the very beginning, he was sketchy. I could have prevented all of it.”

“Really? How? How could you have stopped her from getting abducted by her best friend? You asked her to stay with us, you made her feel welcome.”

“Two years too late. I could’ve prevented all of it, even Eli’s death if I was just a better person. And now she’s gone and it’s my fault.”

I tilted my head and took a breath, “Dean, what exactly happened between the two of you? I mean, from the way Kaden put it, it seemed like you were in love with her.”

I watched Dean’s expression harden and his grip tighten on the steering wheel, “We were close friends, but I was naïve. I was the one who made the battle plan. I was in charge and didn’t even realize we were compromised. Instead of facing it, I ran away when she needed me most. That’s how I lost her.”

I bit down a smile. He clearly had feelings for her, but now was not the time to bring it up. “We’ll get her back. She’s family.”

He nodded but stayed silent. I couldn’t help but wonder what we had done to deserve all the evil we were constantly facing. Audrey is in some witchy coma, Dean is down to his last few months, and most of the demons wanted to kill me.

Something Audrey had told me popped into my memory. The general idea was that hoping for a better tomorrow and working to make it happen. She’d said that our choices and actions define us, not our families or our past. We will make it out of this, I know we will. I shared the quote with Dean, and he smiled to himself, “Wise words.”

I grinned at my brother and looked down at the witch bone in my hands. This had not been easy to come by, and there were still four more ingredients. I tucked it safely into my pocket and looked down the street.

It’s all about hope. We can do this.

Bobby surprised us. By the time we made it back to his place only one ingredient remained. And he knew exactly where we needed to go to get it. “You’re lucky, boys. I found a few hunters who knew Audrey and they were more than willing to help us out.”

“Wow, Bobby. That’s….amazing. I hope we didn’t inconvenience anyone.”

He shook his head, “’Course not. Everyone loves Audrey. Ellen and Jo have even stayed to help us out.”

I was blown away by how much the other hunters were sacrificing to help Audrey. Dean, however, didn’t seem to be listening. He was looking through the ingredients on the counter and the accompanying list. “So….all we need is this Solomon’s Seal thing, whatever that is, and we have….” He checked his phone, “Six days.”

Bobby smiled, “Yeah, and that’s going to be challenging. It’s a special flower found in Arizona. From what my research says, it’s guarded by an ancient witch.”

“Great,” Dean sighed heavily, “Another witch. My favorite.”

I was feeling pretty optimistic. Arizona isn’t too far of a drive from here, and we could definitely take the witch on. “We can make it. We still have plenty of time.”

My brother nodded and grabbed his duffel bag off the floor, “Let’s ice this witch.”

All we needed was some food for the road, but we ran into Jo on the way. She blushed a little before saying hi, mostly to Dean. I was used to this by now, she didn’t particularly care for me.

I watched Dean with a smirk, knowing he’d had a thing for her, but he surprised me, “Hey. How is Audrey doing?”

She looked a little deflated, but she smiled, “She’s a fighter. She will make it, I know she will.”

He nodded, “You take good care of her, okay?”

“Of course.”

I cringed a little, Dean was being a little harsh. We hadn’t seen Jo for a long time. In fact, she didn’t even know about Dean’s deal. I smiled at her, “We appreciate your help, Jo. Stay safe. We’ll catch up soon.”

She nodded, “Good luck, guys.”

Once we said bye to everyone and headed out, I gave my brother a look, “Dude. What was that?”

“What was what?”

“With Jo earlier? You totally brushed her off.”

He looked at me like I was stupid, and I had been getting a lot of that look lately between the demon blood and arguing about Dean’s deal, so it didn’t shake me at all. “We’re on a time crunch, Sammy. I can socialize once Audrey is safe.”

“I get that, Dean, I do. But I thought you and Jo had a thing.”

He scrunched up his nose and started the car. Guess that means no. “Come on, man, that’s gross. Jo’s like our little sister.”

I couldn’t hide the smirk that was growing on my face. What an idiot. “Well, let’s go save your special friend.”

He glared at me, cranked up his music, and sped off as fast as possible.

D E A N

This is stupid. It’s a flower. Why was she making this so difficult?

I stood up with a groan and a mouthful of dirt. My arm hurt so bad that I had to hold it at a weird angle. I turned back to the battle, brainstorming ways to take down the witch. Bobby was not kidding; this lady was ancient. She didn’t look it, but she was using magic we had never seen before.

We showed up an hour earlier at her small cottage. We ignored it, heading straight to the giant garden in the back. I made some joke to Sam about this looking like a scene from a Disney movie.

The garden was full of weird crap. Glowing cabbage, giant pumpkins, star-shaped fruits, and so on. We searched the entire garden until we found a small circle of white bell-looking flowers that looked exactly like Bobby’s picture. They seemed to radiate magic which was a good sign. But as soon as we touched one, this lady materialized out of nowhere. She looked to be in her mid-thirties with dark hair that came to her knees and an even longer dress that had to be from medieval times. She smiled and threw Sam without a word.

And that’s how the battle started. We tried everything we knew, but nothing was working. “As resilient as you are, I won’t have just anyone stealing from my garden. You’ll expose me to the world!” No way this old hag was stopping us from saving Audrey.

I gripped my knife and crept behind her when Sam yelled out, “Wait!! Wait, we aren’t here to expose you at all.”

She tilted her head, “That’ what they all say.” She rose her hands to smite my brother, and I prepared to lunge.

“My brother’s in love. His true love is dying, and this is the only way we can save her.” Sam spoke quickly and confidently, stopping me in my tracks. What is he doing?

The witch paused and looked around, “Oh? Where is your brother now?”

I cursed Sammy for giving me away like that as she turned to meet me, “Is this true, boy? Are you on a quest for your true love?”

I cringed. Hard. But Sam was gesturing frantically behind the witch and I realized that she seemed interested. Maybe this would be our only way out. I nodded and she put a hand on my head. Instantly, pictures flashed through my mind of the past month. Losing Audrey, doing all I could to find her, seeing her in her dreams, fighting off demons, everything. The witch squealed in delight, “An imprisonment potion!! You are a modern-day Prince Charming! A knight in shining armor! Ooooh they don’t make em like you anymore.” Apparently, it was working, she didn’t seem like a villain at all now, “Come on. I will get you what you need.”

I was so shocked that it took me a minute to catch up, “I can’t tell you how much this means to me, thank you.”

She nodded and began cutting some flowers from the garden, I sent a look back at Sam who was back at the cottage waiting. “You know, boy…you should not have been able to see her dreams.”

I was taken aback, “Wh-what do you mean?”

“Well, that sort of thing doesn’t just happen, particularly with the imprisonment potion. The victim should be completely isolated. There has only ever been one exception.”

I was waiting for an explanation, but it didn’t come. My heart was pounding in my chest and all I could do was hope that I didn’t look as dopey as I felt, “What’s that?”

She stood and placed the flowers in my hand, “Only true love can form a link that strong. I know you are unsure of your feelings for the girl, but fate is giving you a sure sign you are meant to be. Good luck on your quest, Dean Winchester.”

I opened my mouth to argue, but she was gone. Again, I was dazed for a minute or two. This is ridiculous, all this fairytale crap. There’s no such thing as one-true-love and what not. I rolled my eyes and headed back to my brother, “Woah, Sam. How did you know that would work?”

He shrugged, “Just a hunch. I saw some fairytale books through her window and figured it was worth a shot.”

“Well, good job coming up with a story like that under intense pressure. You saved us all.”

He gave me a look but, thankfully, stayed silent. This had been a very confusing day and I just wanted to get back to Bobby’s and save our friend.

She looked way better than she had before. They had cleaned her wounds and even changed her into new clothes. Only faint bruises and scars remained on her pale skin. In fact, if I didn’t know any better, I would guess she was dead.

We’d given Bobby the flowers and I ran straight here without a word. We only had about two days left before she’d die, and I was terrified. There is no time for a Plan B. Either this works, or I lose one of my closest friends. I needed another chance with her. I needed to make things right.

“I’m sorry. I knew I should’ve gone with you. I could’ve saved you from all of this pain.” There was so much more I wanted to say, but I couldn’t get it out. The future was just so uncertain. “You make me a better person. I can’t lose you now.”

Obviously, she didn’t move. I sighed and placed my hand on hers, “This better be worth it. We better save you or I’ll summon Kaden’s ghost tush and kill him all over again.” I gritted my teeth at the idea of the guy. Seriously, what an idiot.

The door opened behind me, but I didn’t bother looking to see who it was. “How is he doing?”

Jo was the last person I wanted to see right now, but I tried to hide my disappointment, “I think we’re losing her. We need the potion as soon as possible.” My voice came out harsher than I’d meant it, but I didn’t apologize.

“Jeez, Dean. She’s really important to you, isn’t she?” When I didn’t answer, she sighed and tried again, “It’s going to work, Dean. But she will need time to recover. I can’t even imagine what she’s going through right now.”

She was trying to help, but the idea that Audrey might not be fully healed until I had died made me sick. I squeezed her hand and looked back at Jo, “She’s a fighter. She’ll be back in no time.”

Jo’s expression was hard to read, but I could tell she wasn’t happy. She opened her mouth to answer when the door opened again. This time Sam, Bobby, and Ellen all came rushing in. Bobby held a bowl, Ellen had a blanket, food, and water. I sent them a ghost of a smile. “Here goes nothing,” Bobby announced as he opened Audrey’s mouth with one hand and poured the antidote in with the other. The room was thick with anticipation, you could feel everyone holding their breath, but nothing happened.

“Bobby! What’s going on? Why isn’t she—”

He held up a hand, “Patience, boy!!”

I scowled but watched her intently. Maybe time was playing tricks with me since I was so terrified, but it felt like hours with no progression. My heart sunk, she’s gone and there is nothing we can do. But I blinked and I could’ve sworn that her face had a little more color than before. Her hand began to warm up under mine, and her eyelashes began to flutter.

I grinned. She’s back.


	9. Grow As We Go

A U D R E Y  
My senses were suddenly overloaded with reality. A harsh white light flooded over my eyes making the pounding in my head ten times worse. Everything felt broken. I let out a groan and tried sitting up, but someone hugged me tight. I squinted, trying to adjust my eyes. Once the hug ended, I was finally able to make out two gorgeous green eyes. I hadn’t seen Dean this close before, but he had freckles that dotted the bridge of his nose and his cheeks. I took in each of his features, feeling relived. This is real. He saved me.  
I hugged him again, as tightly as I could. I was trying to express my gratitude, but a part of me didn’t want to let go. I felt like I was home. I felt safe, like all the torture I ‘d been through was gone and could be completely forgotten. “hey, save some appreciation for the rest of us!!”  
I laughed at Sam as he pushed his brother out of the way to hug me, “Good to have you back, Audrey. When he stepped back, I saw Bobby, Ellen, and Jo all waiting for me. I couldn’t hold back the tears as they each hugged me in turn, muttering words of affection or gratitude. It felt like I had finally found my home.  
Ellen was prepared. She immediately wrapped me up in a cozy blanket and forced me to drink an entire glass of water before handing me a tray, “You need to eat all of this before tonight.”  
I laughed and thanked her. Bobby said something about letting me rest and they all filtered out.  
Well, almost all.  
My eyes finally fell back on Dean. We seemed to be thinking the same thing. I didn’t want to be alone and he was the only person who had any kind of idea what I had been through. I wanted him to stay. He shut the door and pulled up a chair, his emerald eyes full of concern. “How are you feeling?”  
I smiled, “Much better now, thanks to you. All of you. But…what happened?”  
I watched his smile falter, he seemed to be thinking things through, “Well it’s just like Kaden told you. I guess some demons showed up and took you guys. It’s my fault for not taking care of you.”   
I laughed even though it hurt, “Dean, you are not responsible for this in any way.” I wanted to hold his face and make him understand, but I was far too weak. He grabbed Ellen’s tray and started cutting up the chicken into smaller pieces.  
“I could have protected you. I could have saved you from all of this if I just went with you to your room. Once the demons had you, they took you to some warehouse. Kaden tried calming you down by telling you he had saved the two of you from everything,” he brought some chicken to my lips and I blushed; this is humiliating. I bit down my pride and opened my mouth, realizing how hungry I actually was. And, dang. Ellen is a good cook.  
I knew Dean was lying. He was just acting different. “Where is Kaden, anyway?”  
He scowled, “Basically, the demons were trying to trap me and Sam, so they kidnapped you and gave you this potion to bait us. We came to save you and Kaden….he didn’t make it. He fought well.”  
I blinked, completely numb, ‘W-wait. Kaden’s gone? Just like that?” Everything seemed like it had worked out magically, but I guess that is too much to hope for.   
Dean nodded, “I’m sorry, Audrey. I know how much he meant to you.”  
Anger sparked in my heart. Maybe Kaden was right, maybe Dean was trying to kill us all off.  
But one look at him and I knew that wasn’t the case. His motivation was genuine concern, it shown in his eyes. He fed me another piece of chicken and sighed, “It’s been a nightmare, honestly. I’m just glad you’re okay. That was some awful stuff you had to go through.”  
A memory flashed in my mind of the torture I had just woken up from, then I remembered….”Dean?”  
“Hmm?” He was looking at me like he was my sworn protector. I hated to admit it, but there was something incredibly attractive about that.  
“Were you…did you really…you know…?”  
His brow furrowed, “No, I don’t know.”  
“I just…I could’ve sworn you appeared in some of my dreams…”  
The tips of his ears began to turn red along with his cheeks, “Uh, yeah….about that…”  
I found myself disappointed when the door opened and Sam peaked in, “Dean, Ellen is pretty pissed about you staying in here. She’s about five seconds away from coming after you, fair warning.”  
“Come on, Sam.” I mustered up the best puppy dog eyes I could, “Haven’t I been sleeping for long enough?”  
He chuckled, “We all miss you I promise. But we’re worried about your health. The best way to heal up is to rest up.”  
He gave Dean a look so I looked at him too, trying to figure out what he was thinking. He was staying awfully silent, but he nodded. “Yeah, we don’t want Mama Ellen mad at us, do we?”  
I wanted to protest some more. I had felt so alone, I just wanted some company for at least thirty minutes. But when Dean stood up, I realized how weak I really felt, and it suddenly didn’t seem like such a bad idea.   
Dean smiled at me and brushed my hair back, “Get some beauty rest, okay? I’ll see you later.”  
It was easy for me to fall asleep after that.

It had felt like I was healing for years. The boys had so many cases and it absolutely sucked that I couldn’t go with them. Even worse? Dean’s deal was coming to an end sooner each day and I hadn’t even seen him since I woke up. Bobby and I were studying constantly to save Dean, but it got more frustrating by the minute. “Bobby…this is absolutely ridiculous.” I was on the verge of tears, why can’t someone just make this stupid deal go away? “It’s not fair. He saved my life and I just want to return the favor.”  
Bobby hesitated before shutting his book and staring me straight in the eyes, “Dean knew full well what he was getting into by making deals with demons. Sure, we can try to save him, but it’s his own darn fault that he’s in this mess.”  
I shrugged, “We all know he’s an idiot, but he does not deserve this.”  
He sighed, sinking back into the chair, “Well…Ruby has told him that she can get him out of this.”  
My heart stopped, “Ruby?”  
Bobby sighed and explained everything that happened with Ruby while I was gone. She helped save me from the demons, fixed the Colt, and helped Sam figure out his powers. I bit my lip, “Well….hopefully she’s not lying.”  
He nodded. I turned back to my notes and wrote her name with question marks. It could be a place to start. “You know what, kiddo? It’s Christmas. We should be celebrating.”  
I gave him a weak smile, “Come on, Bobby. Since when do we care about Christmas?”  
We had done a few small things together when I was growing up. Eli always said that big celebrations were pointless, and Bobby never knew what to do. Sometimes I’d watch Hallmark movies by myself, but that’s about as far as our festivities went. Bobby just grinned and held out his hand. I followed him to the junkyard (which continues to amaze me. I loved looking at all the cars, but I didn’t know anything about them which was kind of sad). “Alright. Everyone knows that you need a Christmas tree and snowmen for Christmas. Now, if you’ll go get my toolbox, I’ll see what treasures I can find.” He headed off and I smiled to myself as I did what he asked.  
I passed the spot where the boys usually parked, and my smile fell; I really wanted to be out hunting right them. It was about seven o clock on Christmas Eve so I texted the boys a holiday greeting and promised myself I would call Ellen and Jo later. When I made it back to Bobby, I was shocked to see what he had come up with. There was a huge pile of junk. How we would make this cute, I had no idea. But I was excited to try. We immediately got to work. I stacked different sized tires to make two Snowmen. Then, I sorted through the nuts and bolts looking for the eyes and buttons while Bobby spray painted the tires White. I placed my finding onto the tires and Bobby ripped up a long piece of plastic to make two scarves for our little friends.  
After much debate, we settled on buckets to use for the top hats. These snowmen were not cute by any means, but they felt special. I’d never spent time like this with my father, but I imagine this is would be much like this. I grinned at Bobby who was just beaming, who would have known that such a cranky man would enjoy such a silly pastime. It warmed my heart. “Alright, we’ve got to get this tree going. Santa will be here in a few hours.”  
I laughed, but he gave me a completely serious look, “Yes, sir!!”  
“So this,” He placed a ladder in front of me, “This is our model. We can place scraps all around here to get the shape we need.”  
I nodded, “Sounds good.”  
It was simple, really. We just layered the sheets of metal around the ladder. At first, I was in charge of supplying the sheets, but he eventually taught me how to secure it in place, so we switched roles. I had to admit, it was incredibly satisfying work.   
When I finished securing the last sheet, I noticed that Bobby was making ornaments out of leftover supplies and shook my head. He was so creative. “Nice, Bobby! You’re a natural.”  
He scoffed, “Don’t tell anyone about this.” I made a sign of locking my lips and hung the ornaments while he worked on a star. When we had finally finished, we took a few steps back to admire our beautiful mess. It looked ridiculous, but to me it captured the spirit of Christmas. “I love it, Bobby.”  
He wrapped his arm around me, “Merry Christmas, kiddo.”  
We ended up putting the snowmen on either side of the front door, and we somehow got the tree inside by the fireplace. Finally, I curled up on the couch and followed through on my call to Ellen and Jo. No word yet from the boys, but hunts are always predictable, so I assumed they were just busy. All I could do was hope that I could join them on the next hunt, they’d had some pretty exciting ones according to Bobby.  
Everything that Bobby had done for me made me smile, he gave me something I’d never forget. How could I repay him for all of this?  
After a few minutes of racking my brain, I got the perfect idea. I scribbled a note in case Bobby looked for me, then I raced out the door.

Christmas day was, somehow, even more magical. I woke up and made breakfast for Bobby. All of my friends growing up would use the word ‘magical’ to describe Christmas. Now I understood what they meant. I felt something different in the air. “Wow, you’ve really outdone yourself, Audrey.” I had pancakes, waffles, bacon, sausage, and eggs all laid out on the table. “Are you feeding an army?”  
I shrugged with a smile. Hunters seemed to think of Bobby’s home as a community home, so I was just prepared for anyone. We ate together, discussing typical Christmas traditions and what we could start up as ours. “Well, I think we should see what Santa brought by, don’t you?”  
The excitement racing in my heart made me feel like I was three years old, but I didn’t let it make me feel silly. I raced in and gasped at the site in front of me. Apparently, I hadn’t been the only busy one this morning. The bookshelves and tables had been removed which made the room look completely transformed. There was fake snow everywhere, red and green Christmas lights, blankets lining the floor, and even Christmas music playing on the record player. I broke out in a grin before seeing our Christmas tree standing in the center of the room. Underneath lay three presents wrapped in silver. “Bobby! It’s beautiful!”  
He smiled, “Glad you like it. Take a seat.”  
I didn’t need any convincing. He handed me the smallest package. This was all so foreign to me that I laughed nervously before gingerly unwrapping a small box, “Bobby!”  
He laughed, “Are you gonna open it or not, ya idjiot?”  
I was not at all expecting what I found inside. It was a silver charm bracelet that looked like it was made for a hunter. There was a gun, some warding sigils, even an impala, and the main charm was a locket with the engraving ‘family don’t end with blood’. I teared up as I opened it to find a picture of Bobby, Elijah, and me from several years ago. I smiled up at him through the tears and tackled him in a bear hug, “Thank you. Thank you thank you thank you.”  
“I love you, kiddo.”  
A warm feeling washed over me, “I love you too!” I wiped away my tears and my smile grew, “Wait right here, you crazy man.”  
When I came back with a box, his mouth opened in shock. I handed it to him as I sat back down, “Merry Christmas, Bobby.”  
He gave me a small smile and began to open it. My heart pounded in my chest, hopefully he liked it. I never knew what to get boys for presents. He had been needing a new case for his gun so I found the nicest one I could and spent all night painting names on it. His face was red, tears were starting to build up. “The names are…uh, they’re all of the people you have helped. Hunters and people alike. You have saved countless lives every day. I hope you know that we are all indebted to you.”  
He opened it to find the framed picture I placed in there. It was a candid shot of him, Dean, Sam, and me laughing at the dinner table a few weeks ago. Ellen had snuck a picture of it, and I begged her to send me a copy. I had a sticky note on it that said, ‘thank you for being my family.’   
I had never seen Bobby cry before now, “You didn’t have to get me anything. You were supposed to be an entitled kid who enjoyed her holiday.”  
I laughed, “Bobby, this is me showing just a sliver of my appreciation for you. You’re one of the best things that has ever happened to me.” We hugged again and I was grateful that the world had sort of paused for us to enjoy the holiday.  
After I cleaned the dishes, we started watching Home Alone. The day was super chill, but it was special. About twenty minutes into the movie, we heard someone come into the house, “Bobby, are you going to explain the creepy snowmen outside or—” Dean’s voice faltered when he saw the living room decked out in the Christmas spirit. “It looks like Rudolph threw up all over your house.”  
Sam was laughing, “I like it. You know, I always pegged you as a Grinch, Bobby.”  
“Yeah, well I think I found my Cindy Lou Who. Take a seat, boys.”   
Dean shot me a questioning look and I shrugged with a smile. It turns out the other two presents were for Sam and Dean. He gave Dean a Led Zeppelin shirt and he got Sam a new watch. They looked like little boys. It was adorable. “Well, I’m not complaining. This is the best Christmas I’ve ever had.”  
Sam nodded, “It’s not like it was a tough competition, though.”  
I smiled at all of them, once again overwhelmed by how lucky I was. “Merry Christmas, boys.” They returned the greeting cheerfully and Bobby announced he was getting some pie.   
“So…you made the creepy snowmen?”  
“C’mon, Dean. You keep mentioning the snowmen like you’re scared of them.”  
He glared at me, “I’m not afraid of anything.”  
“Nothing except for snowmen. They can’t come alive, you know. There’s nothing to be scared of.”  
“I’ll show you something to be scared of,” he growled. Without warning, he pounced and began tickling me. I had no escape, I laughed until my sides hurt, trying anything I could to escape.”  
“Dean!! D-Dean, you s-s-suck!” I only managed to get a few words out between laughs, “I just wa-want to watch my movie.”  
“What movie?” He feigned innocence but kept me pinned to the ground.   
I rolled my eyes, “Don’t worry, there are no evil snowmen in it.”  
He smirked and leaned closer to my face, his breath fanning over my lips, “Okay, now you’re just asking for it.”  
He stared at my lips for a while before raising his hand in a threat to start another round of tickles, “No, Dean!! Please just let me go. I’ll do anything.”  
His gaze switched from my eyes to my lips before chuckling and helping me up. It was no good, though, my heart was already pounding like a sledgehammer. Sam came back in with hot chocolate, so we piled on the couch and watched Christmas movies for the rest of the day (with a pie break, of course.) I had never been happier; the magic of Christmas was almost tangible. I was beyond content with my little family that I found on my own.  
Bobby was right, family doesn’t end with blood.


	10. Dream a Little Dream of Me

Unfortunately, real-world hit us like a truck. The boys had been bombarded weird cases that I couldn’t quite understand like Dean dying a hundred times because of the Trickster or hunting with some kids called the ‘Ghostfacers’. I’d hunted a few cases with them, but nothing exciting. This weekend I was working a case with Bobby that was interesting, but I felt like we’d finally figured it out.

That is until I came back to the apartment earlier and found him knocked out. It had been hours and I could not wake him up, no matter what I tried. The last time I saw him he had talked your primary suspect, so my stress levels were high. A shudder ran through my body as I realized that this is probably how they felt about me when I was at death’s door for an entire month. Which made me think of Kaden and how he’d given up his life to save me and how I couldn’t do anything about it. I’d never see my best friend again and that was my fault. I couldn’t let the same thing happen to Bobby.

I grabbed his phone and dialed Sam as fast as I could, “Come on, Sam. Pick up….” Sam and Dean, of course, had more important matters to attend to. They were trying to save Dean from his impending doom. I had to recall him about seven times before he answered, “What’s up, Bobby?”

“Sam, It’s Audrey. I’ve got bad news.”

S A M

As soon as Audrey informed us of the situation, we changed course immediately. “Come on, Bobby! He’s really gotta be way more careful.”

I chuckled, “You’re going into dad mode again, Dean.”

He shrugged, “I’d rather not lose him.”

I nodded in agreement and opened the emails Audrey had sent me. Luckily, she had been working the case with him, so she knew exactly what was going on. “I think he’s still fine, I guess some kid was experimenting with trapping people in their sleep.”

Dean tensed, “Seriously? Didn’t we just deal with that?”

I scanned the rest of the email as quickly, “Wait a minute, Dean. There is a way for us to get inside of Bobby’s dreams. We can help him out, no problem. We just need to pick up a few ingredients on the way.”

“Alright, what do we need?”

It was dangerous for sure, but we are able to get inside Bobby’s head and save him from whatever is going on. I even ended up meeting the kid who is responsible for all of this. While Dean and Bobby were fighting their way out of Bobby’s dreams, I was outside fighting this random kid. Although we were able to make it out safely, we were next on his hit list.

Audrey had stayed out of all the action to keep us safe from any potential threat, so thankfully she was safe. But the rest of us were too paranoid to sleep. Dean and Bobby were both compromised since the kid had gotten ahold of their DNA. Audrey was not happy with us. She had been glaring at Dean for a while before she exploded, “Okay, guys. We know who it is. Let me go ice him.”

“No way,” Dean snapped, “If we’re doing this, we’re doing it together.”

She shook her head, “You three are super sleep deprived, you’re in no position to defend yourselves, let alone fight. Leave this one to me.”

“Audrey, stop.” Dean stood and grabbed her wrist, “I’ve got a better idea.”

I knew what he was going to say which was beyond frustrating. Dean was back again with his careless attitude. I wasn’t going to let this happen, “You can’t go alone, Dean.”

He shook his head at her, “Man, I’m tired, I’m irritated, and I don’t have much time left. I’m not spending it scared of some kid.” He flopped on the bed and fluffed his pillow, “I’m facing this twerp right now.”

I exchanged exasperated looks with Audrey, “Fine. I’m coming too.” I ripped out a piece of his hair and grabbed some of the disgusting African Dreamroot tea that we had leftover.

“I’m surrounded by idiots. Bobby?” She looked at him expectantly.

He shrugged, “I hate to admit it, but we do need to stop him. We can’t stay awake forever.”

I raised my glass, “Here’s to that.” I forced the tea down and hoped to fall asleep soon. We woke up in the same spot and looked around confused, “Do you think it worked? Are we in your dreams?”

He scoffed, “Yeah right, like I would dream of hanging out with you.”

As if on cue, the air seemed to ripple around us. Suddenly we were in a dance hall. Music was playing and there were about a dozen couples I looked at my brother from the corner of my eye. It just didn’t make sense for Dean to have a dream like this.

Then I realized what was actually going on. Audrey was there all dressed up for the occasion. She held her hand out to Dean, “Come on, tough guy. We’ve got time to kill, we might as well have some fun.”

Before he could remember that I was here, I ran to the other side of the room. Good thing too because when he saw that he was alone he took her hand and they started twirling around the dance floor like a regular couple. A smile played on the corners of my lips, they looked really cute together.

I watched her laugh into his shoulder and a genuine smile grew on his face. Dean had told me this story before. I was at Stanford, they were in their mid-twenties and hunting something in the dance hall. He talked about how beautiful she looked and how much fun it was. He went on and on about how easy it was to talk to her and that it was the best night of his life.

I smiled at them one last time before heading out to find Jeremy. It was sweet that my brother’s dreams took him to this memory with Audrey, but it was bound to turn dark at any moment. I needed to stop Jeremy and get us out of here. I ran down the hallway looking for any sign of him. Sure enough, I found him outside waiting for me. Without a word, we started a full-on brawl. I tried everything I could think of, but he just would not stay down. It was almost as if nothing was affecting him.

I groaned and tried to come back to a stand, but the ground felt as if it was eating me up. “You’re forgetting,” Jeremy sneered, “I control this world.”

I shrugged nonchalantly, focusing on the picture that Audrey had shown us a few days ago, “I took the dream root too, I can control as much as you can.” That stopped him for a second before he picked up an axe to finish the job. Luckily, just before he could swing at me, his dad walked out from behind the trees with a baseball bat. I felt horrible for getting him killed in such a traumatic way, but it was the only way I could see this ending. I turned and squeezed my eyes shut.

“Hey! Hey, are you guys okay?”

I blinked and sat up straight, “Okay….okay, I think he’s dead.”

Audrey was sitting on Dean’s bead looking panicked, “You guys were under for a really long time. Dean started----”

“So, if he’s dead in dream world, is he dead in real world?” Dean said, trying to hide the blush creeping upon his cheeks.

Bobby nodded, “Yeah, that’s how it works.” The two of them asked a few questions about what went on in dream world, but we dodged most of them. We just told them it felt like a normal hunt until I ran into him and imagined his dad coming to kill him. They bought it and moved on.

A few moments later we were all packed and ready to head back to Bobby’s. “I call driving!” Audrey dangled the Imapla keys in front of Dean’s face.

“No way,” He growled as an intense game of keep away ensued. She gave her arguments on why she should drive, and he threw them all back in her face. Finally, he grabbed her by the waist and spun her around, then held both of her hands behind her back, “I win, feisty. Let’s go.” She pouted and reluctantly headed out the door as I chuckled to myself.

I threw a wink in Dean’s direction and watched in joy as his ears turned by pink. He shrugged it off and pushed past me for the car.

D E A N

They say when you’re about to die your life flashes before your eyes. Well, that’s a load of crap because I was about forty hours away from death and I felt fine.

That is….besides the hallucinations.

And the overwhelming feeling that I’d never see my loved ones again.

Yeah, I felt fine.

I had always thought that people who made deals with demons deserved what was coming. I kinda felt bad for that now. I watched Sam toss a bag of candy to Audrey. They started laughing about something until Bobby told them off. It was weird to think that this would all be gone soon.

“Hey, what are you being so doom-and-gloom for, Dean? We’ve got your back, we’re not gonna let them take you.”

I scoffed a bit. The effort really was amusing. I knew they meant well, but there was no point pretending. “Thanks, Sammy. But there’s no point in pretending anymore. It’s time to own up to what I’ve done.”

Bobby rolled his eyes, “Alright, princess. Let’s get to it. Sam and I will look for Lilith, you and Audrey will just fix the Impala or something.”

“Come on, Bobby. We can do more than that,” Audrey protested from across the room making my mouth twitch. She’s always so eager to help.

“Fine,” Bobby gestured to the kitchen table. “After that you can work on the ammo.”

She saluted him, “Yes, sir.”

“We’ll get you out of this, Dean. I promise.” Sam gave me one last look with his giant puppy-dog eyes before following Bobby to the other room.

“So, the car?” Audrey gestured to the door.

I shook my head, “Nah, I fixed it up this morning. Let’s just make sure everything is ready to go.” We headed out to the car in silence. The dynamic between us had gotten extremely weird over time. We had gone from strangers to close friends to enemies to…..whatever we are now.

I opened the trunk and started sifting through the weapons, knowing we’d need all the help we could get. I handed her the bag of weapons and she gave me a weak smile. “You know….”You know…it’s all over.”

“What?”

“I mean, it’s over for me. What’s done is done, and no matter what they say there is no coming back from this. The best thing I can do is take Lilith down with me.” I didn’t even know if I believed myself, but I had to try and help her be ready for the worst.

“Awe, Dean. You’re so brave,” She cooed while pinching my cheeks. I swatted her hand away and she laughed, “Regardless of what happens, I’m just grateful we were able to fix things. The time I’ve spent with the three of you has been the best time of my entire life.”

She jumped up on the trunk of Baby, “Besides, Dean. How many people sell their souls to save the life of another person?” She shook her head gently, “If things really do….end today, you’ll be remembered a hero.”

My heart warmed a little. There was no chance that we could actually beat Lilith, but I would give everything to spend more time with this girl. “Nice speech. Now get off my baby, we have work to do.”

She rolled her eyes and mumbled about men and their egos, but she followed me into the house. Once we reached the kitchen, we began sharping and polishing all of the weapons. Somehow, this led to reminiscing. “If it weren’t for me, she would have killed you!”

I clenched my jaw, “No way. Uh-uh. You got us into that mess in the first place. I know a werewolf when I see one.” She gave me one of her all-knowing looks and I burst into laughter. “Alright, okay. You did save me that time, but the time with the ghost and the psycho killer babysitter? You would’ve been lost without me.”

She shivered, “Touche. That was a rough run for me.”

The time flew by, the two of us randomly throwing out memories. “Awe and that amazing restaurant in Tennessee? How many times do you think we ate there?”

“I totally creamed you guys at game night…..yeah, except for charades.”

“—and you woke them up because you were singing too loud—”

We were laughing so hard we didn’t even notice that Bobby had come in. “It seems that Lilith has been taking a little vacation.”

Both of us jumped at his voice and the announcement made my heart sink. This is real. “So, you found her,” Audrey said with an awkward nod.

Sam nodded at Bobby’s side, “She’s a little far, but we can make it before the deal is up.”

“Let’s go ice this son of a gun,” I smirked, hoping that no one would notice how scared I actually was. This is it. My time is up.

A U D R E Y

We were all gathered around the house the air was thick with sadness. We all knew there was only two outcomes. Either Lilith saved Dean, or we all die. We were down to minutes left with Dean and we had no plan at all except for relying on Dean’s hallucinations to find demons and make battle plans. And there were a lot of demons. “Okay….so how do we get past them all?”

Bobby shook his head, “I’ve got a crazy idea. Audrey, come with me.:

I nodded and headed off with him, realizing with every step that it could be my last time seeing Dean ever. I squeezed my eyes shut and groaned before running back to him and hugging him as tightly as I could, “I’ll see you later, Dean.”

He seemed a little taken aback, but he pulled me into his chest and stroked my hair, “You take care of Sammy, you hear me?”

I nodded into his chest and inhaled his scent of pine and cinnamon. I pulled away and gave him a smile, but quickly turned away to follow Bobby and wiped away the tears. There was no way that we were coming out on top with this one. I’ve been studying forever, and we never found anything. I had let Dean down.

“Alright, kiddo. We’ve got to work fast. We need to get holy water into the sprinkler system.” I almost jumped when I realized that he had already gotten a lot of work done already.

“Great idea, Bobby. You’re a genius.”

We worked in silence for a few minutes before he cursed, “That boy really isn’t making it out alive, is he?”

I bit my lip and tried to focus on the task at hand, “I know you tried to stop him from making the deal, Bobby. It really was his choice.”

“Idjiot.” We had the sprinklers done pretty quickly so we walked in silence to the house, covering each other. The idea was to catch up to them, but they had a good ten minutes on us. By the time we got inside, the demons were dead and there were less than five minutes until midnight.

“Where are they, Bobby?” I was about to launch into a full-on hysteria, we had searched so many rooms and there was no sign of anyone but dead demons until we got to the living room. Clearly, that’s where all the action was at. Dean was in the room to our right and Sam was in the one to our left. Dean looked at me over his shoulder and winked with one of his dazzling smiles. Not even five seconds later he was knocked to the ground and being torn apart.

A scream ripped through my body. I ran in to fight, but Bobby grabbed my waist. ‘Bobby! Stop. Let me go!!” I can stop them!!” I was flailing around like a two-year-old at a grocery store, doing anything I could to get out of Bobby’s grip. But the unthinkable happened. Dean’s body went still, and I broke down into sobs, “He can’t—he---”

Bobby hushed me and opened his mouth when a blinding light poured in from the other room. “Sam!” Bobby gasped and ran in that direction as I ran straight to Dean’s side. Everything that I could make out through the tears was absolutely horrible. My stomach flipped inside out but I pulled his limp body to my chest.

My sobs slowly built into a full-on ugly cry. The boys had begged me to save Dean. They came to me for help and I turned out to be completely useless. I let one of my best friends get dragged to Hell. I brushed his hair back and pressed a kiss to his forehead, “We will get you back. I promise.”

Audrey,” Bobby was back already which gave me hope, “Audrey, Same is a little out of it but he’ll be okay. We need to get him home ASAP.”

I felt hollow and cold inside. I couldn’t see past the tears anymore, but I didn’t want to leave Dean’s side. Bobby had to march over and pull me up by my waist to get me to move. I went directly to Sam who just held me and let me sop into his shoulder. “C’mon. Let’s go home.”

He scooped me up bridal style and we headed out to the car. I felt absolutely terrible. Sam had just lost his brother and somehow survived this demon disaster and I was being selfish by being such a disaster. But I couldn’t help it. The image of Dean’s body would be engrained in my mind forever.

The car ride home was awful. No one spoke for a few hours, then Sam finally spilled the details about Lilith possessing Ruby but not being able to kill Sam. It was all great news, but we weren’t anywhere closer to stopping Lilith and now we were one man short.


	11. The Search

S A M

Things were awful. It had been weeks since we’d buried Dean, but the somber mood was still thick in the air and I couldn’t stand it. I didn’t blame them for being so upset, I mean they saw him get torn to shreds. That’s not something you can just get over.

And I felt guilty. It was my fault that he was dead. I was too reckless and would have been dead if not for him. But even I knew that there wasn’t anything we could do. We had been researching forever, but there’s just no way of bringing Dean back.

I’d have to fight Lilith on my own now.

Unless…

Ruby could help me. Nothing was stopping me from doing whatever it takes to stop Lilith. I packed up, but I knew I could not leave before I said goodbye to Audrey. She was a wreck which was understandable; she had lost everyone. Her parents, her brother, and her friends. I walked in to see her sitting in her bay window. “Hey, Audrey. How are you feeling?”

She shrugged, “I just don’t get it, Sam. Why aren’t you as much of a mess as I am? He’s your brother.”

I shrugged. I honestly didn’t know why I felt so okay about all of this, “Maybe I’m just used to being on my own.”

She glared at me, “You’re leaving, aren’t you?”

I felt bad, really. But someone had to do something, “I have a plan. I’m going to beat Lilith.” 

“We can do that together, Sam. Let us help you.”

I shook my head, “This is my fight. I know what I have to do.”

It took a while for her to respond, but when she did, she was not happy. “You promised him, Sam. You promised not to use your powers.”

I stared at the floor, “She needs to be stopped.”

She turned back to the window, “I’m going to get Dean back. And when I do—”

“Look, I can’t imagine how hard this is for you,” I took a seat next to her, “I know the two of you were close, and seeing that happen had to be super scarring. But believe me, you can move on from this life. Dean would want you to be happy. Go back to medical school, make a change in the world. Don’t just sit here waiting for a miracle.”

She looked interested and nodded at me with a smile, “I’ll think about it.”

I gave her a hug, “I’ll stay in touch. Be safe out there.”

Before I knew it, I was on the road again and ready to start the next chapter.

A U D R E Y

It had been about four months since we lost Dean and Sam had been gone for almost as long. It still sucked. Bobby and I kept hunting, but most of my time had been devoted to saving Dean.

Bobby didn’t like that. After a while, he told me that Dean’s fate was sealed and there was just nothing powerful enough to save him. I kept looking, I kept up hope. Dean never gave up on me, even when I was at death’s door for a month.

Right now, I was supposed to be grocery shopping, but I was at the public library. I had decided to take a step back and look at the basic lore. There had to be something I was missing. Going into hour three, I had finally picked up on a trail. My eyes widened in shock and my heart pounded in my chest. This might be it.

I sped back to Bobby’s house; the groceries long forgotten. I flung the door open in excitement, “Bobby! I think I found a way to save Dean!!”

I turned the corner and stopped in my tracks. Someone who looked exactly like Dean was sitting next to Bobby on his couch. He looked at me like I was royalty and tears started forming in my eyes, “Bobby?”

“He’s the real deal, kid. I’ve tested him.” Bobby held out Dean’s arm showcasing the cuts, and Dean’s hair was still wet, presumably from the holy water.

It was hard to breathe. I went over to him, his piercing green eyes stared back into mine. I placed a hand on his cheek and let the tears fall. Before I could say anything, Dean wrapped me up in the best hug I’d had in years. I half-laughed/half-sobbed into his shoulder as he stroked my hair the way he always did. He is back.

“Are you okay? Are you back for real?”

He laughed with a shrug, “I feel great. And, yeah, I don’t think I’m going anywhere soon.”

“But Dean, you---your body—who saved you? How are you here?”

His brow furrowed, “I have no clue.”

Weird. I frowned, “Well…whatever or whoever it was…I’m indebted to them. I’ve missed you so much.”

He grinned, “I’ve missed you too. Where’s Sammy?”

The question left a sour taste in my mount. Of course, I expected the question much sooner, but I didn’t want to be the one to tell him. Bobby sighed, “We don’t know.” He explained that Sam left us, and we didn’t know where he went or what he was doing.

“Alright, okay. Give me a few minutes, I’ll track him down.”

Bobby and I exchanged looks, not wanting to reveal the true nature of the situation. I was upset with Sam for breaking his promise with Dean, how would Dean himself feel when he finds it all out? But Bobby followed Dean’s lead, so I played along.

The door flung open to reveal a girl in barely any clothes. She had gorgeous brown hair and a frown plastered on her face. Maybe this was the wrong door? I shot a look at Dean, but he was trying to see inside the room. “Since when does it take three people to deliver a pizza?” She snapped, eyeing us down one by one.

I didn’t have a good feeling about this girl, but Dean kept going. “Where’s Sam?”

She opened her mouth to say something, but someone spoke from inside the room. Begrudgingly, she opened the door to reveal an apathetic Sam. He invited us in, and the girl went into the bathroom. Dean sat on the bed and shook his head, “Look, Sammy. I know we do whatever we can to get each other out of these situations, but you have to tell me how you got me back.”

I cringed at his confidence. He wanted so bad for his brother to save him, but that just wasn’t the case. I glared at his brother from my spot on the floor, but I was ignored. “Look, Dean. I tried. I really did. But no demon would deal.”

Dean blinked as the girl came back out and kissed Sam before heading to the door. Sam walked with her and messed up her name a few times before she left, and he came back to us with a bashful smile. “Really, Sam?? Really? You’ve just been sleeping around this entire time?”

Sam shrugged, “I tried, Dean. I just honestly had no leads. There was no way to save you.”

“Well, if it wasn’t Sam….” Bobby started.

“Who was it?” Sam finished.

A light went on in my head as I remembered the passages I had read earlier. Of course, it was ridiculous. None of us believed in that sort of thing. They would laugh me into next year if I said anything without proof. “Well,” Dean trailed, “There is one thing.” He rolled up his sleeve to reveal a handprint on his shoulder. I gasped; there was my evidence. I took a breath, but Bobby told us about his psychic friend who could help us find out who did this, and the boys seemed excited.

“I think I might have an idea abou—"

“Great idea, Bobby. Let’s go,” Sam had spoken over me and headed out the door with Bobby.

I pressed my lips together and shook my head. Why was Sam being so rude? “What was your idea?”

I nearly jumped out of my skin, “Dean. I forgot you were here.”

He smiled, “I’m listening. What did you figure out, smartypants?” He gestured to the door and we started walking together.

My cheeks were warm, “It’s going to sound really stupid, Dean. Trust me. I had a hard time believing it myself…” He nodded for me to continue, “But it makes sense. I mean, there’s only one thing that can overrule Hell.”

His smile faltered, “Heaven.”

I looked at him, “Too far-fetched?”

He shrugged, “I don’t know. I just don’t know if I can believe that.”

“Even if you don’t believe in something, it could still be there.”

He nodded, taking it all in, “Thank you.”

“For what? A general guess on what maybe got you out?”

“For not giving up on me.”

I smiled, “Life just isn’t the same without you. Besides, I made a promise.”

He pressed a kiss to my forehead, “You never cease to amaze me. Now, c’mon, let’s go catch up to the grumps.”

Happiness bubbled inside of me and my smile grew as I followed my friend out of the hotel.

Pamela was able to get us a name but at such a high cost. I was not handling it well, but at least I knew the name almost instantly.

Castiel is the name of an angel.

Of course, no one listened to what I had to say, they were all so set on it being a demon. Now I was left completely alone in my hotel room while Dean and Bobby headed out to the nearest bar and Sam went to some diner.

Sam hadn’t spoken to me at all which sucked. I didn’t think our last conversation went poorly at all, so I wasn’t sure what happened. Although, it was great that he was just trying to find himself rather than using his powers to stop Lilith. I shouldn’t have been so hard on him when he was leaving.

I pressed my hand to my face. This was such a mess. I was ecstatic to have Dean back, but this whole situation was kind of daunting. If an angel really did save my best friend….why? And if it wasn’t him then we might be in big trouble, Dean might not even be back for long.

I groaned and laid my head on the table, beyond stressed with the situation. “What’s the matter, sweetheart? You miss me that much already?”

I looked up to glare at Dean, “Not funny. Remember how you were dead three days ago?”

He offered his classic wink/smile combination and I rolled my eyes. “Okay, but you’ll never guess what just happened. Bobby and I just met Castiel.”

Interesting. Definitely not what I’d been expecting. “And?”

“He claims he’s an angel of the Lord. Says he’s the one who pulled me out.”

“Really?”

He shrugged, “Well, we couldn’t kill him.”

“Wait,” I pulled my legs up on the chair and scooted toward Dean, “What was he like?

A soft chuckle came from Dean, “Not what you’d think an angel would look like. He’s just some washed up dude in a trench coat.”

“Huh. So, angels need vessels too. It makes sense.”

“I can literally see the wheels turning in that head of yours.”

I shoved his arm, “Shut up!” We were laughing together, and relief washed over me. There’s no reason to be worried. Dean is back. Everything will be fine as long as he’s around.

“There was one thing. For a moment it almost looked like his shadow had huge wings…..” Dean’s voice had changed tone, almost as if he believed what he’d seen. “But it couldn’t be, right? Just a trick?”

I bit my lip, “I don’t know, Dean,” I closed the book in front of me, “But…I do…I think that maybe I believe all this stuff. I mean, what are the chances that the same day I read about God and the angels one of them pulls you from the pit? We could never find anything else…I was so scared, Dean.”

He put his hand on mine, “I don’t know if I can believe in God, sweetheart. But I know I believe in you.” He gave me a soft smile and I about melted on the spot.

The Sam walked in and we pulled apart. “Bobby said you have something to tell us?”

Dean and I exchanged looks. “Yeah, where is that crazy guy? Seems like we have a lot to talk about.” Dean called Bobby and we had a little debate among ourselves about what had happened. It looks like it will be an interesting ride home tomorrow.


	12. This is Halloween

D E A N

It was good to be back to normal, which for us meant danger around every corner. Cas and I seemed to be getting along fine and I had my small family along with me every day. We’d been faced with challenging hunts lately, so this one was a nice change. Man dies from razors hidden in Halloween candy, girl boils to death while bobbing for apples….easy. We’d found the hex bags, but we couldn’t find any leads whatsoever. “Man, I hate witches.”

“We know,” Sam and Audrey chorused.

I rolled my eyes at them, but Sam’s face lit up, so I left it alone. “So, get this, each of these items are incredibly ancient, even to the point of extinction. We’re obviously dealing with a very old, very powerful witch.”

“Even better.”

Sam gave me a dirty look, “I think I’ve figured it out. Someone is summoning a powerful demon that only comes once every six hundred years. If the demon rises, we will be completely screwed.”

“Gah. Just another Wednesday.”

Audrey’s eyes widened in shock and a light blush spread on her cheeks. “Hello, Dean.” I’d recognize that gravelly voice anywhere.

“Cas. What are you doing here?” I turned to find Cas with another angel beside him. He tossed me a hex bag in response.

“They’re catching on, Dean. You don’t have much time to stop Samhain.” I assumed that was the demon, but Cas didn’t elaborate.

“He’s one of the seals, isn’t he?” Audrey asked, a small waiver in her voice.

He nodded with a small smile, “You always were the smartest one of the group.” Her face turned a deeper shade of red and a feeling I didn’t recognize flooded my body.

“If Samhain rises tonight, Lilith will be one step closer to raising Lucifer. And it’s our job to stop it, no matter the cost. We suggest you leave immediately so we can obliterate the town.” I didn’t know Cas’s friend, but I hated him already.

“No way. You aren’t killing innocent people.” There’s no way we were letting them get away with this.

The other angel shrugged, “It’ll be a bloodbath if you fail, we might as well get it over with and stop Lilith from getting another seal.”

Sam stood up, “We are so close, just give us a little more time.”

I glared at Cas’s friend, “You’re only allowed to harm these people if you go through me first. And God had you pull me out of Hell for a reason. You need me alive, so I suggest you let us do what we need to do.”

Anger flashed in his eyes, “I would not be so arrogant if I were you. We can throw you back to Hell as easily as we got you out.” He cocked his head with a smirk, “This is about the greater good. People are going to die we might as well start now.”

I was seconds away from punching the guy when Cas spoke up, “Uriel, we will give them a chance.” He turned his gaze to me, “You have until sundown.”

And they were gone just as soon as they’d come. “Those were the angels you’ve been talking to? They’re jerks!” Sam was shaking with anger.

I nodded, “Almost worse than demons, right? But Cas and I are tight.”

“Cas?” Audrey asked, amused, “You gave a nickname to an angel?”

The weird feeling from earlier returned in full force. She was clearly enamored by Cas and it was making me upset. I shrugged, “Look, Sammy. Don’t give up faith because of a few bad apples. I’m sure there are some great angels watching over us.”

He frowned, “I really hope not.”

We all laughed before Sam saw the time, “Ugh. C’mon guys. We’ve got to wrap this up ASAP. There are way too many lives riding on this.”

We were running at full speed now. I felt exhausted, dirty, and pissed off. I was caked in the blood of a dead witch and, oh yeah, we failed. We were chasing after the demon who had gone to a cemetery. I cursed under my breath; I hate when jerks are right.

“Okay, you two save the partying kids, I’ll get the demon.” I’d never seen Sam volunteer that fast which could only mean one thing.

“Sam. Use the knife. Please don’t use your powers, no matter what happens out there.”

“Of course.” He gave me a dirty look and ran off.

“Wait. Sam was using his powers?” Audrey asked, “I must be really naïve.”

I shrugged, “Angels are good lie detectors. I have a lot to fill you in on if we survive this.”

She nodded and we rushed in to get the kids out of the crypt. It wasn’t that hard with both of us, so we soldiered our weapons and ran in the direction Sam had gone. When we found him, he looked weak and even had blood coming from his nose. My heart sank at the sight. “Sammy! Stop it!”

“I almost—”

Audrey gasped as Sam fell to the floor in sync with the demon. She ran to my brother and checked his pulse, “He’s okay, but we need to get him back to the motel ASAP.”

And we did. But I was pissed. Sam made one promise to me. Only one. And he couldn’t keep it. Audrey was staring at me like she was trying to solve a puzzle, “Hey, do you need to get it off your chest?”

I nodded and we headed to the nearest park. I explained everything about Cas begging me to stop Sam, about how I followed my brother to find him training with Ruby, everything. She shook her head, “I can’t believe he actually did it. Why?”

“Beats me. He of all people should know about the dangers involved.”

“He’s too far gone.” Apparently, Cas was back, he was sitting next to us and adding his two cents. “It’s addicting. He has felt the power and now it will take a lot to get him back.”

“Hello to you too, man.”

He nodded curtly and Audrey cleared her throat, cheeks already pink, “So, how exactly does this work? Is another seal broken?”

“Unfortunately, yes. But this was more of a test than anything.”

Uh….what? The angels are playing pretend with us now? “A test?! What does that even mean?”

“As you’ve said, Dean, God has chosen you for a purpose. Now he is seeing if you’re the right man for the job.” He looked up to the sky, “I believe that you made the right call today. You saved a lot of lives.”

I shrugged, “Yeah, well if Lucifer comes back then there won’t be many lives to save.”

He shook his head, “That’s why we have to stop him.”

“Is there any way to find out all of the seals?” Audrey asked, “There has to be some way for us to catch up with Lilith.”

Another head shake from Cas, “There are many seals that we aren’t aware of. And she only has to break 66 of them. She practically has countless options.”

“Great,” Audrey huffed.

“Don’t lose hope, Soldier.” He smiled at her and her face darkened again.

It was my turn to clear my throat, “So is there anything else we should know about?”

“Only that there are more tests coming, Dean Winchester. I do not envy you.” He turned to Audrey, “Good luck.”

Then he was gone.

We had been walking around Bobby’s junkyard for a while now, it turns out we had a lot to talk about. “So, Sam totally ditched you the second I was gone?”

Audrey shrugged, “People handle grief differently. I shouldn’t have judged him so harshly.”

“No. I know my brother. His plan all along was to regroup with Ruby and develop his powers.”

“I’m sure he believes that what he is doing is right.”

I know she was right about that; I’d just wish he had been upfront about it. I sat on the trunk of a car, “Y’know…I went through horrible things down there. Stuff I’ll never forget.”

Her eyes widened as she sat down next to me, “Dean, you don’t have to—”

“What was four months here was forty years there. And…” I rubbed a hand over my face with a heavy sigh, “I did terrible things. Most of my time there was spent in pure agony. They tortured me every day.”

The memories came flashing back and I fought back the tears, “They proposed a deal each day. If I’d torture others, they’d stop torturing me. And I said no over and over again. But I was weak. The last year I was there I tortured souls. I tore them apart like it was easy like it was fun. And I know I’m a horrible person, but I can’t even believe that I’d—” I bit my tongue and focused on the rock in front of me. I didn’t even know why I was telling her any of this. It just came pouring out and now I’m going to lose Audrey too.

But she lifted my chin, and I could feel her gaze on me as she spoke, carefully and deliberately, “Dean. Do you even realize what you just said? All I learned from that is that you’re the most selfless man I’ve ever met.” I scoffed and tried looking down again, but she wouldn’t let me. “I’m serious. First you sold your soul just to save your brother. Then you refused to save yourself at the expense of others for years. How many people would do the same in your situation? I don’t think I would last very long at all. You really need to give yourself more credit.”

I finally met her eyes and saw tears streaming down her face, “That’s not an excuse. All of those precious souls…I’ve done damage I can never undo.”

She wiped a tear off my cheek with her thumb and shook her head, “No, no you can’t. But you can do as much good as you can. Save as many souls as you can here to make things better.”

I took a deep breath, “That reminds me….there’s a lot that has been going on with the angels that I haven’t told you yet.”

She rose an eyebrow and leaned back, “Shoot.”

“Well, we know that angels need vessels, right?” She nodded. “So, some of us are built better than others, I guess. And apparently, there are “Ture vessels” that exist. Like…proper forms for the angels to take.”

Her brow furrowed, “Go on.”

“The reason they are all giving me so much attention is because I am Michael’s true vessel.”

“Oh.”

He’s going to use me if Lucifer is released. He wants to use me to destroy the world in an apocalypse. They just need me to say yes.”

“And you’re worried you’ll give in?”

I nodded, “But there’s no way, right?”

She shook her head, “Dean. I know you. You would not sign your life over to kill thousands of people. You will do the right thing. Besides, you’re not alone anymore. We’re all backing you up.”

I sure hoped so. The weight of the world seemed to be riding on my shoulders. ‘Dean, stop your brother from going to the dark side.’ ‘Dean, give your body to Michael.’ ‘Dean, stop Lilith.’ ‘Dean, command the angels. Pass their tests. The only time I felt normal was when I was with Audrey. Instead of all that, it was ‘Dean, you’re enough. You can do this.’

I smirked, “I must really mean a lot to you, I mean, you spent over a year looking for a way to save me.”

She rolled her eyes and pushed my arm away, “Whatever, Winchester. I made a promise and the guilt was simply eating me alive.”

I chuckled, “Mhm. just admit you missed me.”

“I’d send you back in a heartbeat,” She winked, and I laughed again.

“C’mon, let’s get back in there before Sam thinks you’re dead.”

We started the walk back. “Thank you for your trust, Dean. I feel very honored that you confided in me.”

I shrugged, “I needed to get it out. Thank you for listening.”

“Ugh, there you two are, I’ve been looking for you everywhere. I think I found us a case.”


	13. We Got Work to Do

A U D R E Y

This town was all kinds of messed up. Bigfoot sightings, giant teddy bears, lottery winners…. It was as if everyone was suddenly magic. We had done some investigating and everyone we spoke to had led us here to the Lucky Chin’s restaurant.

“Seriously? A wishing well?” I asked, “Isn’t this a little on the nose?”

Sam shrugged, “I dunno. Let’s try it out. Wish for something, Dean.”

And, classic Dean, he responded without missing a beat, “I already have my wish right in front of me.” He even had the audacity to wink at me.

I fake hurled, “In your dreams, Winchester.”

I wasn’t expecting the reaction that followed, Sam choked, and Dean cleared his throat turning a little red. “Right, I’m gonna wish for something for real.”

While my mind was still trying to figure out why my remark made them uncomfortable, a delivery guy walked in and handed Dean a sandwich. “Dude! This is a sandwich chain in Florida. The well actually works, you need to try it Sam.”

He shook his head, “Not a good idea, all I want is Lillith’s head on a plate.”

I exchanged looks with Dean. Poor Sam really is losing his way. Then Dean asked me to make a wish and I shook my head, “No thanks, my friend. I believe magic comes at a great price.”

Sam shrugged, “I think you have a point, take Kaden for example.”

My brow furrowed, but just as I was about to ask what he meant, the restaurant came to talk to us. We pretended to be restaurant inspectors and he emptied the restaurant for us.

“Alright, let’s get to work. No time for chit chat,” Dean gave Sam a hard look and we immediately went to work on the well, discovering an old coin that would not be removed no matter what we tried.

“Bingo,” Sam smirked and took a picture of the coin.

Sam had gone after the invisible kid while I was stuck babysitting Dean. I was concerned about the magic biting him in the butt, so I was staying behind for clean up patrol. About five minutes after Sam left, Dean started vomiting as if he’d been food poisoned. It was disgusting, but luckily, I was able to get some research done between throw-up sessions. The coin we’d found was a Babylonian and cursed by the god of chaos.

“Dean, how are you feeling in there?” More vomiting sounds came in response. I cringed, “Do you want me to hold your hair back for you?”

He appeared in the doorway, “Ha ha.”

“I told you, there’s a price to magic.”

That’s when Sam came home. We filled him in on everything and he ordered Dean to get some rest while we worked on the case. “How was invisible boy?”

He shivered, “Disgusting.”

I laughed and Sam gestured to Dean, “So…how has he been? He won’t tell me anything but you two are practically inseparable.”

I blushed and looked at my friend’s sleeping figure. “He’s not doing too well, Sammy. He carries the weight of the world on his shoulders. I mean, with what he went through….I can’t even imagine coming back from that.”

Sam perked up, “So he told you about it, then! He told you about Hell?”

I shrugged, “He can’t remember anything, really. But it’s clear he’s been scarred.” I felt bad lying to Sam, but he’d broke Dean’s trust in the first place. Besides, Dean should be the one to tell him.

“Poor guy. What about you?”

I blinked, “What about me?”

“How are you handling everything? I mean, you had to be excited about seeing Dean again.” His tone was juvenile and slightly taunting.

I glared at my younger Winchester, “I don’t know what you’re implying, but of course I was glad to find out my friend wasn’t dead.”

He shrugged, “Just saying it seems lik—”

“I think I found something! It says that the only person who can remove the coin is the person who initially put it there and the curse will be removed. And we’ve got to work fast or else the entire town will be destroyed.”

Sam was smirking, but thankfully he didn’t push, “Alright. So how do we find t—”

This time he was cut off by Dean. He was tossing and thrashing around in his sleep. We exchanged horrified looks and rushed to his bed. I had never seen Dean like this….he looked terrified.

“Dean, Dean! Hey, c’mon, man.” Sam was shaking his brother, doing anything he could to wake his brother up.

I pushed him out of the way and rubbed Dean’s shoulder, “Dean, everything is okay. You’re safe.” Once he settled down a bit, I ran my fingers through his hair until the tears stopped. I threw a wink at Sam and went back to the desk to research the wishes.

Apparently, Dean had woken up entirely. Sam was pestering him about his nightmares and the drinking saying that he was obviously hiding what had happened in Hell. Dean, of course, brushed it off and came to join me, “So, how do we stop the curse?”

We filled him in and explained how we just needed to find the first person in the town to make a wish.

“Easy. The guy with the smokin’ hot fiancée. Their engagement was the first of the good luck streak,” Dean pulled out the newspaper and flipped to the story.

“Seriously, Dean,” Sam was really riding Dean’s case today, “You’re not even gonna give him the benefit of the doubt?”

He showed us the story about how everyone was shocked by the engagement since the couple were strangers who got engaged overnight. “Guess you’re right, Dean. Let’s go find Will.”

About an hour later, we all sat exhausted in the restaurant. It had taken quite a fight to convince Will to do the right thing, but he eventually did even though he completely lost his fiancée. She had stumbled out of the restaurant like a confused drunk, and she didn’t give Will a second look.

“I’d rather never get married than force someone to marry me,” I commented, watching Will sadly begin the trek home.

Sam sighed, “Well, luckily marriage isn’t something we have to worry about as hunters.”

“You two are saps. I just enjoy all the ladies.” I tried my best to ignore Dean. I loved the kid, but he could be real douchey at times.

“Sure, Dean. I bet your food poisoning really attracted all the ladies,” Sam laughed. Dean glared at him which just made him laugh harder. “C’mon, let’s get out of here.”

D E A N

Things had been going well for so long that it felt like things would explode at any moment. I’d finally confided in my brother about Hell, he gave me a basic counseling session, we hugged, and we moved on.

Now we were at Bobby’s trying game night for the first time in years. We were playing Uno and things were not going very well. About an hour into our game, Audrey was still wiping the floor with us. Bobby swore, “I swear you’re cheating.”

She laughed, “Kaden taught me all the tricks.”

“I didn’t know there were tricks to Uno,” Sam nodded in appreciation.

Bobby just grunted, “Kaden, now that’s someone who deserves to rot in Hell.”

Flip.

I watched Audrey’s face drop, “what do you—”

“Oh, so you must have played Uno with him too, Bobby?” I tried sending him the message to avoid Kaden in conversation, but I think I just confused him. Luckily, Sam had finally caught on from all the time I’d cut him off. “What kind of tactics are there? I thought it was all luck.”

Audrey eyed the three of us suspiciously before explaining, “Just like any game, there is a strategy. Your play depends on the cards you are dealt, and that’s all I’m saying for now.”

“Well, all I’m saying is we should play something else,” Bobby glared at me, “I’m gonna get more beer. Dean, switch out the game.”

I groaned inwardly. That was code for ‘we need to talk’. I followed him into the kitchen with the Uno cards and switched it for Monopoly. I snuck a quick glance at him to confirm that he was still looking in the fridge then I started sneaking out.

“Where do you think you’re going, young man?”

I cringed and turned around, “We have to protect her. She doesn’t know that he’s the one who did all of that to her. I told her he died a hero.”

He shook his head, “That’s very noble of you, son. But with the amont of people who know what actually happened, that’s not the right call. She’s gonna find out.”

“Not if I have anything to say about it.”

“She will,” Bobby was upset now. He loved Audrey like she was his own, “She will, boy. So it better be from you.”

I nodded and headed toward the door again. “Promise,” He demanded

I nodded, “I promise.”

Audrey and Sam were talking about what the next seal could be and how crucial it was that we found it soon. “Cas would be a great help,” Sam was saying.

“For sure, I bet he could take down Lilith all on his own.” If Audrey had even a slightly bigger crush on Cas, she’d pass out.

I rolled my eyes, “C’mon, guys. Can we take a break from hunting for just one night?”

“I’m sorry, Dean,” Sam snapped, “Some of us are concerned with the fate of the world here.”

Luckily, Bobby came back and cleared the air. “So, Audrey. Are you the master of Monopoly, too?” I already knew the answer, of course, but I needed to distract her as much as possible.

She shook her head, “No. I hate Monopoly.”

“That’s great news,” Bobby laughed, and she hit his arm.

“That’s it. You’re going down, old man.” We all laughed, and I sighed of relief, the crisis had been averted for now. But Bobby was right, she was going to blow up soon, and I didn’t want to be the cause of that. I watched her as she played, moving light and feminine. Her hair shown in the light and her eyes twinkled with mischief.

Was I wrong for wanting to protect her?

AUDREY

“This is the last time I babysit your unconscious butts!” I yelled as I took a shot at yet another demon who came at me.

We were trying to figure out why people weren’t dying in this own, and Dean figured the reaper had gone missing so the boys astral projected themselves to find out. And now, Pamela and I were left to fend for ourselves. Correction, I was fending for all four of us. “Those boys love to drag you into trouble, don’t they?” She asked with a smile.

“Yep. You too, it seems. You should hide.”

She shook her head, “I should wake them, we won’t last long.” She seemed to understand what the demons were after. They were coming at full speeds which could only mean one thing.

This is one of the seals.

I said a silent prayer and kept fighting as Pamela headed towards Sam and started whispering in his ear. He woke up just in time to see her get stabbed by a demon who appeared right behind her.

I screamed her name and ran to kill the demon, but Sam beat me to it, using his powers. The horror of seeing him kill a demon effortlessly just added to my distress. I grabbed Pamela in my arms, “I’m so sorry,” I managed to say through the tears.

She pressed a hand to my cheek, “It’s not your fault, dear. Just promise me to stop obeying these boys!”

I smiled, “I promise.”

She turned to Sam, “And you, boy. Those powers will not do any good. You need to abandon them while you still can.”

He stared at the ground and I glared at him as Pamela crawled her way over to wake Dean.

The boys had been seconds away from being stuck in the spirit world forever. It really is stupid how lucky they are. Dean woke with a start and took in his surroundings, deflating at the sight of Pamela, “Hey, it’s okay. You’ll be okay.”

“Shouldn’t we call Cas? He could heal—”

I was cut off my Pamela, “NO! No, this is how I go. I’m tired and I’m done fighting.” My tears came flooding out like a waterfall. I felt personally responsible for her death, and I always will. She may be blind, by she seemed to be staring into my soul, “Don’t blame yourself, sweetie. You are a very brave warrior, my dear. Always remember, you can’t save everyone.”

I sobbed as she continued to lecture the boys before going quiet. I buried my face in my hands and just cried. One of the boys pulled me into a tight hug, but I didn’t have the clarity to see who it was.

“Audrey,” Sam’s voice was soft, “It wasn’t your fault. We had no idea this was a seal, there was no way to anticipate an attack.

“You can’t be in two places at once, sweetheart,” Dean mumbled into my hair, “You did all you could, besides we dragged her along, you had nothing to do with that. You did everything perfectly.”

Nothing they said could change what happened. Pamela had died. I’d lost so many people at this point, it was depressing. I tried to pull myself together, “We should get her out of here before someone finds out.”

The boys nodded and carried her out of the room.

I wiped my face dry, took a deep breath, and followed after them. There is still work to do.


	14. It's Nice to Have a Friend

“All I am saying is we have lost far too many people for me to care if you ask Ruby for help. Do whatever you want.”

So clearly Dean wasn’t in a good mood.

We had just left Pamela’s funeral and we were headed back to our motel room. I wasn’t in the mood to deal with Sam and Dean arguing, I had just seen the effects of my incompetence in Pamela’s family. Naturally, they were heartbroken. And it was all my fault.

“We don’t need your attitude, Dean,” Sam chastised in an ‘Audrey-is-feeling-down-and-you’re-not-helping voice.

I sighed, that’s my cue to cut in, “He’s right, Sam. We lose everyone we love. Our parents, my brother, Pamela, Kaden—” I trailed off when I saw the look Sam gave his brother, “What?”

Perfect. Just what I was wanting to deal with right now. Every single time I brought up Kaden something weird happened. It almost felt like everyone was hiding something from me, “Seriously, what is going on?” I didn’t get an answer. We walked into the room to see Castiel and Uriel waiting for us and I dropped my purse in shock, “Cas! Hi!”

He gave me a brief smile as Uriel immediately went at the boys. It took me a few minutes to get my mind off of Cas’s blue eyes and disheveled hair. Luckily, Cas himself spoke up which snapped me out of my trance. “I apologize. We would not have come if it was not absolutely necessary. Someone has been killing angels, seven dead in five days.”

My heart sank, it felt like life was just miserable, “That’s terrible, I’m sorry. But what could we possibly do to help?”

“As you know, we have Alastair. We need Dean’s help getting some information out of him,” Uriel literally had no filter. “We need to find out how the demons are killing so many of our kind.”

If it were possible, my heart sunk even further. Dean looked terrified, it almost looked like all forty years of pain had returned in an instant. He stepped forward, “No. I hate myself for what I did, and I will never do it again.”

Uriel chuckled, “We aren’t asking.” In a flash, the three of them had disappeared.

I groaned in frustration, “We never get a break around here!” Sam didn’t say anything, but I could tell something was running through his mind. “Sam?”

He looked up like he’d just noticed I was there, “Er.eh, I’m gonna head over to the other room. Text me if you need anything.”

I squinted at him, “What about Dean?”

“He’ll be fine.”

“Sam!”

But he was gone. I threw my backpack to the ground. Why is this what I have to deal with every time? Why couldn’t it ever be Sam that was in trouble? I shook my head and called Bobby.

A few hours later Bobby showed up, and I climbed into his truck like an ashamed kid who had just got detention. “So, Sam really isn’t coming?”

I stared out the window, “He said he had better things to do.”

“What is that boy up to? His brother is missing---”

“Honestly, Bobby, I don’t really care.”

It was silent for a moment before he cleared his throat, “Well,” he started the car, “We have a long trek in front of us.”

I grunted in acknowledgment. I was so out of it and frankly terrified of the depressing thoughts in my head. “Bobby…do you know that I got Pamela killed?”

“Don’t talk like that, you know it wasn’t your fault.”

The more people told me that, the less I believed it. I recounted the story to him in detail, a tear rolling down my cheek, “I was right there. I should’ve saved her.”

He was silent for a while, I figured he was going to blame the boys the way that Pamela had, so I was prepared to smile and nod. “You know how I had to kill my wife, right?” I nodded and he continued, “Nothing has ever been worse than when I ended the life of the woman of my dreams. Nothing. I could have protected her, saved her, I just didn’t know how at the time. It was my ignorance that killed her.”

“There’s also the time when I was fighting vamps with Ted. Even side-by-side I couldn’t protect him. I’ve failed on countless hunts to save people. If I think about all of the lives, I failed to save then I completely lose hope. And that’s why we say that we can’t save everyone. It’s not an excuse. Sometimes we fail, or we fall short, but we can’t dwell on those moments or we’ll never be successful.”

I had tears pouring down my face and a warmth spread through my heart. I wasn’t the only one who’d messed up. We aren’t perfect, but we try. “Thank you, seriously. I guess I just never understood.” Really, I felt that it was much messier than that. I still blamed myself for Eli’s death, but I had to let it go.

“Well, you are a doctor. It’s the same principle.”

“I’m not a doctor yet, Bobby.” I couldn’t fight a smile; I really am blessed with the best family.

He shrugged, “Might as well be. Besides, those idjiot boys are the ones to blame. Astral projection is the worst idea they’ve had yet.”

I couldn’t help but laugh, I knew it’d come out eventually. “Bobby?”

“Hmm?”

“Did something happen with Kaden? Something bad?”

He wouldn’t look at me, but I noticed that his grip tightened on the steering wheel, “I think it’s best if you ask Dean about that, kiddo.”

I knew it. I sat back in my chair and pressed my eyes closed. Dean was hiding something from me, after all of this ‘best friend’ crap he was pulling.

“Hey, don’t kill him. His only motivation is your happiness.”

Memories flashed through my mind of us on the hunt that changed everything. It was Dean’s plan. He tipped off the vampires. He always said I was special, but he didn’t really mean it. I dug my nails into my palm, “Yeah, well, he’ll have a lot of explaining to do if we end up saving him.”

We pulled up to an abandoned warehouse because….of course. Without waiting for Bobby, I grabbed my gun and ran inside, prepared for whatever angel I would have to fight.

I was shocked to find Cas. Alone. “Castiel?

He turned to me, shocked, “Audrey. You should not be here.”

“I’m here to save Dean. You know what this will do to him, he can’t—”

“I know,” He stepped closer to be, eliminating all distance we had between us, and sending a heat wave through my body. I stared into his blue eyes and felt weak at the knees. “I don’t think this command came from Heaven; it doesn’t feel right.”

“Then get him out,” I was shocked at how smooth my voice sounded since my senses were in overload.

His brow furrowed in a way that was completely adorable, “I don’t know what to do, what’s right or wrong, or even who is making decisions in Heaven anymore.”

I placed a hand on his cheek, “Cas, this isn’t right, and you know it. You know what to do.”

His eyes lingered on my lips a little before he nodded and gestured for me to follow him. I let out a breath I didn’t know I was holding as we crept around to corner to find a door, “Something’s not right in there….”

He burst the door open to reveal that Alastair had freed from the trap and had begun to wail on Dean. I screamed Dean’s name and ran in to fight, but I was thrown to the wall in seconds. Groaning, I tried to get back to my feet. Pain was racking at my side and my head, but I could only think of Dean.

By the time I finally got up, Alastair had Dean in a chokehold. I brought up my gun, if nothing else I could at least distract him. But that’s when Sam burst into the room causing Alastair to drop a now unconscious Dean. I ran to his side, Cas got back to his feet, and Sam reached out his hand and killed Alastair without moving another muscle. Cas gave me a look but I couldn’t respond, I was frozen in fear.

The energy in the room was extremely uncomfortable, but I was able to shake it off for long enough to get Dean to safety.

Dean had caught us up on what had happened with Alastair, and how Dean had apparently broken the first seal by being the ‘righteous man’ who shed blood in Hell. I would never admit it, but the title of Righteous Man made my stomach do flips.

He was doing fine and would probably be back to hunting by tomorrow, but I could tell he was carrying around the guilt for what he’d done. And there was nothing I could do to help him with it. I was just getting home from a supply room, I bought as much pie as I could when I ran into Ruby. At least, I assumed it was Ruby. I had only seen her once before in this vessel and she wasn’t very nice then. “Hi, Ruby.”

She nodded at me, “Hi yourself. Seems like you’ve recovered from your little curse.”

“Yeah, thank you for your help. I would have been dead by now if not for you.”

“Sure. I can’t imagine how betrayed you must feel, it must be really hard for you.” Her tone made my heart stop, but she headed to her motorcycle as if she hadn’t said anything.

“Betrayed?”

She paused and turned to face me, a coy smile on her lips. I couldn’t help but feel like I was playing right into her hands. “You mean they didn’t tell you?” I shook my head and she sighed with a toss of her hair, “Well, your little boyfriend is the one who did all of that to you in the first place.”

Dread filled my stomach, they had all been hinting at it, but I just let it slide most of the time. Maybe I knew deep down but didn’t want to face it. “You mean…Kaden tried to kill me?”

“It was a means to an end, really. He wanted the Winchesters dead. Of course, it wasn’t the first time.” She sat on her bike and ran a hand through her hair, “There was the time with the vampire nest where he accidentally got your brother killed? Yeah, first the vamps then the demons.”

Everything seemed to be closing in on me and I could barely breathe. Everything made much more sense, “And the boys killed him?”

She shook her head, “No, I did. Good to see you again.”

And with that, she drove away leaving me to process a lifetime of lies. Of course, she could be lying, but everything added up. Well, almost everything.

Why would Dean lie to me?

I swallowed the tears that were building up and walked inside. “Hey, where’ve you been?” Although I had many questions, I didn’t know if I could ask them just now. I placed the groceries on the counter and headed up to my room, ignoring Dean.

I curled up in the best spot in the house, my bay window, and just cried. I felt like everything I knew was a lie, but I just couldn’t understand why. Unfortunately for me, Dean ignored the pie and followed me up here. “Is there anything you want to tell me, Dean?”

His eyes widened and he let out a long breath, “You found out, huh?”

I looked out the window to avoid falling for his sad eyes, “I brought you pie. It’s on the counter.”

“We should talk about it; I mean I should have told you forever ago.”

“Yeah, well you didn’t. But you know who did? Ruby.” I laughed a little, “Isn’t it weird that I had to find out the truth from a demon rather than my so called family?” It wasn’t fair for me to be giving him attitude about this, but I wasn’t in a good place.

He was silent for a moment, long enough that I thought he left. “I thought I’d lost you. You looked like you had been tortured for years. When we finally got you back you were happy and things were normal. Who was I to ruin things by telling you the truth about Kaden?”

My heart sank, so it’s true then. I finally turned back to look at him, wiping tears from my cheek, “What really happened. Dean?”

He signed and sat down on my chair across from me, “The vampire hunt where we lost Eli? That was Kaden. For some reason, he’d called the vamps. Made some sort of deal with them to kill me. Although, I couldn’t tell you why. And this second time he teamed up with demons because they wanted Sam dead. I guess they provided the potion for you to bait me and Sammy. Again, not sure what his problem is with us, but he went all out.

But you know us. We ran in, guns ablazen. We talked for a little bit, but Ruby stabbed him before we could really figure out what was going on. Then the next month was pure agony. It was torture to watch you in pain while trying to find a cure. Trust me, Audrey. Kaden’s not the guy you thought he was.”

I blinked at him, fresh tears falling down my cheeks, “But…why didn’t you tell me? You let me think you were a monster for years, you let me think that he was a hero!”

His eyes flickered to the floor, “I didn’t figure anything out until the whole kidnapping thing. And I planned to tell you everything, I did. We just haven’t had good time to talk lately with all of this…” he threw his hand up, “insanity.”

I nodded slowly, before I could say anything else, he was hugging me to his chest. I bit my lip to try and stop the tears, but once he started stroking my hair, I lost it. Half of my life had been built on a relationship that was a lie. And now it had all been dropped on me like a bomb. After what felt like hours, I finally calmed down, “I’m sorry, Dean. I treated you like a villain for years and you didn’t deserve any of that.”

“Stop it. You’re not the one who should be sorry. I should’ve been there for you when Eli died, I should’ve told you the truth about Kaden, I should have taken care of you. But you have my word, from now on. I will protect you. I will be honest with you, I swear.” He brushed my wet hair out of my face and looked into my eyes. It was only then that I realized he had been crying too, “I’m sorry, Audrey. For everything.”

I could live with that. I may have lost a lot, but I hadn’t lost everything. I was extremely lucky to have my own makeshift family. Which reminded me, “As long as we’re on the subject of honesty…... Sam killed Alastair with his mind.”

Dead laughed in shock, “What?”

“Cas and I saw the whole thing… I think Sammy’s in danger.”

“Okay. Alright, I’ll go talk to Bobby. You get some rest, okay?” I nodded and he pressed a kiss to my forehead before leaving. I smiled to myself. It felt good to know that Dean had done everything he could to protect me, to make me happy. My heart grew warm and I was asleep in seconds.


	15. It's a Terrible Life

I reapplied my lipstick and fluffed my hair a little bit. I frowned at my reflection in the mirror, something still wasn’t right…. I tugged my pencil skirt up a bit and smiled. Bingo. I took a breath and walked into my boss’s office with a smile, “Here are the reports for last Tuesday, the sales stats for the month, and the employee delinquent records that you asked for.” I tossed each folder on his desk.

He grinned at me, “Thanks, sweetheart.” He winked at me before flipping through the first folder, ‘Seriously. What would I do without you?”

I shrugged and leaned against his desk, “You’d be fired in an hour.”

He chuckled and leaned back in his seat, eyes raking over my body, “You know, I feel like we’ve known each other for so long. Has it really only been three weeks?”

I looked up at him from under my lashes, “Maybe we were soulmates in a previous life.”

“You tease, but I think you might be right.”

He made me so happy, it was ridiculous. I bit my lip to stop the flirty remark at the tip of my tongue; he is my boss after all. “Well, sir. I guess I’d better get back to doing your job. Don’t want to get you fired, now do we?”

He flashed me another smile and I about melted on the spot, “No ma’am.”

“Alright, just call if you need me, Mr. Smith.”

He nodded and I walked back to my desk, heart pounding in my chest. Before I could even sit down, my phone rang. I sent a glare in my boss’s direction but answered it anyway. “Yes, sir?”

“You look gorgeous today, Audrey.”

I blushed but he didn’t give me the chance to answer, he’d already hung up. The happiness bubbling in my stomach was enough to get me through the final few hours of the day. Finally, I was crammed in an elevator and scrolling through my music to keep myself distracted. “Excuse me, you look really familiar.” I looked up to see there were only three of us left in the elevator: Mr. Smith, myself, and a tech guy from downstairs. I tried to determine how my boss was feeling about this, but I couldn’t read his blank stare. “Do I know you?”

He cleared his throat and stared forward at the elevator door, “No, I don’t think so.”

“Well, my name is Sam Wesson. Tech department.”

“Dean Smith, Management. And this is my partner, Audrey Styne.”

I grinned, the bubbly feeling returning. He was making me sound like his equal when really, I was just his assistant. I stuck out my hand to the boy, “Nice to meet you, Sam.”

He nodded and shook my hand, but stopped mid-action, “I know you too.”

Mr. Smith and I exchanged confused looks, “I think I’d remember meeting a giant.”

He laughed, “I don’t know, guys. Maybe my brain is just fried from the hours of screen time.”

I gave him a sympathetic look as the doors finally opened, and we stepped out to find out about a murder. Or suicide?

As soon as I got home, I wrote down as much as I could remember about the murder. I had always been fascinated by this sort of thing, maybe now I could try my hand at solving a case. I went to bed that night with ideas racing in my mind.

D E A N

“Look, sir. This is the second murder in only two days. We have to do something.” Audrey was sitting across from me, her chin resting in her hands. The amount of time we spent together rather than focusing on work was…insane.

I nodded, “I think our IT friend might have some ideas.” The guy had been sending me meaningful looks all day, and he’d been peppering me with weird questions. “You know, I rode with him in the elevator again earlier. He asked me if I believe in ghosts.”

“Really?” Audrey asked, a hint of excitement in her voice.

“I guess he’s been having these dreams. That’s where he knows us from.”

Her brow furrowed in thought and she frowned, “Maybe you should call him, see what he knows about all of this.”

“You’re right, you always are. You’d make a good wife one day.” She beamed at me and I bit down a smile, “Would you call him for me?”

She nodded, her cheeks a little pink, and headed out the room. I sat back in my chair with a sigh, what is going on here? If we really are connected somehow, why don’t we remember? I had been researching ghosts ever since Sam mentioned them. Audrey had also mentioned the possibility of this being a supernatural situation.

Finally, Sam came in. “Thanks for meeting me, have a seat.” He nodded awkwardly and sat in the chair across from me. “How long have you been working here, Sam?”

He looked up as he thought, “About three weeks now.”

“Me too, and I’ve never seen anything like this. Y’know, something is telling me that we do have a ghost here in the office.”

Sam perked up, “That’s exactly what I was thinking! Get this, both Paul and Ian were called to HR and came back completely different, almost like they became robots, then they died later that same day.”

I nodded, “Let’s go check it out.”

We headed to the room in silence. Of course, we didn’t have much to talk about. “This is it, right? Room 1444?” Just one look at the door and I could tell something weird was going on.

“Yep.”

It was weird, we moved in perfect sync as if we’d worked together for years. I felt completely out of place, but also like I was home. We split up, I headed to the right side of the room which was cold and clearly had been abandoned for years. The shelves were lined with dusty trinkets, not much worth to anyone.

My eye caught on a flash of silver that turned out to be a charm bracelet. I couldn’t figure it out, but it reminded me of something…...

A memory took over my mind. I had grabbed Audrey’s wrist and saw a charm bracelet. I didn’t get a close look at it; I was busy looking at her. She was worried, but she was dressed down in a t-shirt and jeans.

Sam’s yell ripped me out of the memory. I ran in his direction, and a pounding started building across my forehead. What is going on?

“This is James from the IT department. The ghost was coming after him, but this—” he raised an iron bar, “this made it go away.”

“Hmm. Hopefully, the poor guy survived this thing.”

“He’s fine,” It was a female voice coming from behind Sam. It startled me so bad that I almost knocked down the shelves behind me.

“Audrey? That’s your name, right?”

She pushed past him and knelt at the man’s feet, examining him. She checked his head for a while, checked his pulse, and did a few more things. I was busy looking for a charm bracelet on her wrist, “He is most likely concussed, his nose looks broken, as do a few of his ribs. But he’ll be okay.”

I blinked at her, she was always gorgeous but suddenly she was smoking hot, “How---?”

“I… I don’t know. It just came to me.”

I ran a hand through my hair, “Alright. We’ve got to get out of here, fast. Let’s meet at my place later and see what we can figure out.”

“Okay, but how do we sort fact from fiction?” Audrey tousled her hair so that it perfectly framed her face and I had to look away to stop myself from commenting. ‘I mean, everyone on the internet has contradicting information.”

Sam typed away furiously on his computer, “I think I’ve got something. These guys say they’re the real deal.” I scoffed, but he persisted. “Remember the iron made the ghost go away? They say the same thing here, listen.” There was something familiar about the two boys talking, but I couldn’t imagine ever choosing to hang out with two losers who called themselves the ‘Ghostfacers’. Apparently, I wasn’t the only one who recognized them. A familiar feeling settled in the room, we physically got closer, and everything just…. felt right.

“I think you’re right, Sammy. I think they know what they’re talking about.”

Audrey giggled, and Sam was making a face as if he’d just eaten a rotten apple, “Sammy?”

I shrugged, “It just came out.”

Audrey smirked, “I think it suits him.”

“You think of me as a chubby little boy?”

“Well, if the shoe fits, Sammy.” She walked off to the kitchen without another word. Something about the confidence radiating about her set off a spark in me. Her playful, sarcastic, and constant banter felt… it felt familiar. There was a strong attraction between us, and I was determined to figure it out, so I followed after her. She mumbled a ‘hello’ when she saw me.

“Hey, quick question for you.”

“Shoot.”

“Do you have a charm bracelet?”

Her face clouded, “I think so, why?”

“This is going to sound really weird, but I saw one earlier and it…. I remembered you wearing one.”

She sat on my counter, “Totally weird, but Alex on the second floor was wearing flannel today and I remembered you and Sam wearing flannel.”

I shivered, “No way.” But it was weird, it meant all three of us were having weird impressions.

“I think you’d look hot in flannel,” She smirked, and I leaned on the counter, placing my hands on either side of her. “But do you think we don’t belong here?” Her eyes searched mine.

I thought about it, it really was such a weird situation. But my thoughts were interrupted by Sam calling us back to the other room. I helped her off the counter and we walked in together, my hand on the small of her back. He grinned, “I have a plan.”

A U D R E Y

The plan included us staying late after work, not something I usually enjoy doing, but today it was fun. Sam, Dean, and I sat in Dean’s office waiting for everyone to filter out. “—and we always ate crappy diner food and slept in shady motels.”

I shook my head, not a fan of that idea at all. Sam was sharing all of his weird dreams of the three of us, “That sounds awful.”

Dean chuckled and wrapped an arm around my waist, pulling me into him, “I dunno, I’d give up everything to travel the country with you, Sweetheart. Sounds exciting.”

“Only if you could keep me entertained,” I shot back without missing a beat, leaning my head against his chest with a smirk.

Sam blinked, “So, are you two…. together?”

My heart paused a bit, technically it wasn’t allowed, but I didn’t really know what we were. “Of course not, HR is always breathing down my neck,” Dean announced, “But the things I’d do to her if they weren’t….”

His low voice sent electricity through my body. I was about to make a move when Sam cleared his throat, “Glad to see you’re following policy. Now, let’s go fight this ghost.”

We walked through the dark halls, and I was terrified. All we knew was that the founder of the company was the ghost and that we needed to find something of his to burn. The hard part was finding what was anchoring his spirit here. I suggested burning the entire building, but the boys didn’t like the idea of being jobless. We made our way to the memorial room in silence. I was behind Sam, wondering why he kept his hair so long. It looked good, honestly. But how much product did he put in there? How much time did he spend styling it each day? “Oof,” I didn’t notice he’d stopped walking and I ran right into him, “Sam!”

“Shh!”

“Gah,” I whisper shouted, “You’re like a giant tree.”

Dean’s snicker behind me brought me back to reality. Sam would look a lot nicer if he had hair like Dean. Actually…. He and Dean looked really similar. Almost like they could be related. Suddenly, the room dropped in temperature. It was so cold that I could see my breath, “D-Dean?”

“We’re in the right spot. Let’s split up,” Dean took charge effortlessly, his leadership skills kicking into high gear, “Look for something that could be holding his spirit here.”

I kept going straight, Dean took a right, and Sam headed to the left. There was so much crap in here that I was clueless about where to start. It had to be something special…. Something like a charm bracelet.

I glanced at my barren wrist. I could not remember owning a charm bracelet for the life of me, but I knew I had one. I knew it was special. I heard clinging to my left and a large crash to my right. I cursed under my breath; the boys must be in trouble. I frantically scanned the items on display until my eyes landed on one in particular.

A watch.

It was beautiful, this had to be it. I headed for it, but it suddenly seemed like I was walking through quicksand. I groaned in frustration and looked around for the culprit. Sure enough, it was the CEO himself. Old and pale, with a smile that didn’t quite reach his eyes. I swung my iron bar at him to no avail. He was too far.

Unfortunately, he didn’t have the same limitations that I did. With a flick of his wrist, I was thrown to a wall. When I finally came to, Dean was sneaking up behind the ghost to reach the artifacts. I had to make a choice. “The watch, Dean!”

That put the attention on Dean, but not before he was able to toss me the watch unnoticed. The ghost cornered him as I salted the watch and struck a match.

As soon as the match was lit, the ghost was back in my face, clawing and tearing at me, anything he could to stop me. I screamed and swatted at him, but I couldn’t get him away.

Then he disappeared in a cloud of smoke. When it finally cleared, I saw Dean holding his iron bar like a baseball bat. He winked at me and I threw the match onto the watch. The ghost reappeared just in time to get burned to pieces.

I grinned at Dean who twirled me around and pressed a kiss to my forehead, “Excellent work, Sweetheart!”

My stomach was in knots, so I just blushed, “I couldn’t have done it without you, sir.”

He shrugged and moved a piece of my hair behind my ear. We were silent for a moment, he lifted my chin with a finger, and I panicked, “Where’s Sam?”

The question startled even me, but I fully committed by pulling away to look for Sam, taking deep breaths to calm my heart. I couldn’t fall for Mr. Smith. There were more reasons than it being forbidden by HR, some reasons I didn’t know, but I just knew it would be bad. He called after me, but that’s when I woke up.

What a weird dream.

If it was a dream….

I headed downstairs, I wanted to see the boys to confirm that I was back to our reality. “Sam? Dean?”

“Audrey, thank heavens,” Sam met me in Bobby’s living room.

“Did you--?” My hand went to my charm bracelet, I sighed of relief to find it back in its proper place, “Was that real?!”

He looked shocked, “I thought it was a dream…. but if you---”

“Where have you idjiots been?” Bobby’s stern voice came from upstairs, “It’s been about a month since I last heard from any of ya!”

Sam and I exchanged looks, it that was all real…. yikes, “Where’s Dean?”

He shrugged, “I don’t know! Last time I saw him, you two were about to make out.”

My face burned, “Nothing happened.” I immediately busied myself with looking for Dean. We’d searched for about an hour and a half when Bobby called us back for dinner. Luckily, that’s when Dean walked in from the front door. “Dean!!” The three of us chorused.

“I have answers,” He announced, not looking very happy about it. He joined the rest of us at the table and sighed, rubbing his forehead for a bit, “So, that was all real. We spent the last four weeks working at a real company and saving real lives.”

“You’re kidding,” Sam breathed.

“Nope, some angel named Zachariah sent us there. He wiped our memories and dropped us in the middle of the company.”

My cheeks burned, Dean and I had done some pretty heavy flirting over the past month. I tried to focus on his story to calm my heartbeat. “Wow, lucky you guys. Why’d you get management while I was stuck in IT?” Sam’s bitter tone made me laugh.

Dean half-shrugged, “I’m not sure why he did all of that. He gave me some big spiel about how the hunting life is hard, but we have it made compared to others.”

“Ugh, I agree. Secretary life sucks,” I chimed in.

Dean smiled slightly but wouldn’t look at me. Sam frowned, “I dunno guys, nothing about this feels right.”

Bobby shook his head, “This sounds insane. He definitely had an ulterior motive.”

That’s when a lightbulb went off in my head, “I think I got it!”

“What?” They chorused.

But I was already on the move, “How do you summon Cas when you need to talk to him?”

“I pray, but that only works—”

“Great, I’ll be back.” I left Bobby’s and walked about a mile until I was deep in a forest just to be sure they weren’t following me, then I prayed. “Cas? I don’t know if you can hear me, but I really need your help.” I was thinking of more to say, but I didn’t need to. He was already in front of me.

I grinned, “Hey, Cas. How’re you doing?”

He shrugged with his usual eye squint, “I’m not sure. Honestly, I don’t know what to believe anymore. I had to kill Uriel, he’s the one who let Alastair break free.”

“What?!”

“Yes, it seems that Heaven is not exactly organized right now. There are now many factions in support of Lucifer.”

“Dang, Cas…that sucks, I’m so sorry.”

He nodded, “What can I help you with?”

I sat on a log and gestured for him to sit next to me. When he eventually did, I sighed, “Cas, the angels all want the apocalypse to happen, don’t they?”

He blinked, “I don’’---”

“An angel called Zachariah just made us live through an alternate universe to show us that our lives aren’t so bad, I think it’s obvious what is going on.”

He shook his head, “They didn’t count on you being so close with the Winchesters. You’re far too smart.”

Panic struck my heart, so I was right. No one is on our side. Unless…. “We need your help. We have to stop them.”

He shook his head again but looked sympathetic, “I can’t. Audrey, you know that I can’t do that. I will be seen as a rebel, just like Lucifer.”

“No, this is different. You said it yourself, there is no organization in Heaven. They are putting innocent lives on the line and we can stop it. We need you.”

He looked sad, but nodded, “I’ll see what I can do. For you.”

“And Cas?”

“Yes?”

“Maybe you should hang out with us more often, you don’t seem very happy up there.”

He gave me a smile and awkwardly placed a hand on my shoulder before blipping away. I sighed in exasperation, what are we going to do?


	16. Begin Again

I woke up in a warm room with no recollection of anything after talking to Castiel. I wasn’t in pain at all, so I found my amnesia odd. I stood up to find I as in a large white and gold room. It almost looked like a waiting room to meet the President, except there was a tower of burgers and beer in the center. I huffed; Dean would love this place. “Good, you’re awake.”

I jumped at the sound of a greasy and unfriendly voice. I turned to find an older man that sorta resembled a mouse, “Who are you? Where am I?”

“I’m a friend of Dean’s. And you’re safe, don’t worry.”

“Zachariah,” A pit grew in my stomach as the reality of my situation dawned on me. I could potentially be stuck here forever. “I’m in trouble, aren’t I?”

He shrugged and strutted over to the snack table, “I wouldn’t say that. It’s simply because the stakes are far too high to have you meddling around. You’re a little smarter than we gave you credit for.”

“But why would you even want the apocalypse? It would mean the end of everything!”

He rolled his eyes, “I don’t owe you---”

Just then, Dean appeared with Cas by his side, sending a wave of relief through me. I’m safe; we’re getting out of here. But Zachariah smirked at me, “He can’t see or hear us, you know. We can’t have you mess up our plan when we’re this close.”

Cas nodded in my direction while Dean was busy checking the place out. I tried to talk to them, even with Zachariah’s claim, but my mouth was dry, and my tongue felt like cement. I shot a dirty look to the jerk angel beside me, but it was ignored. I then turned my attention to Cas, but it was also unsuccessful. Everyone was completely focused on Dean, telling him about how Michael would use him to kill Lucifer AFTER Sam raised him from the cage. I rolled my eyes; if only I had the chance to tell them. Although, I must have been gone for a while, cause from what I remember there were still 15 seals left.

I struggled to think of ways to get through to Dean, but nothing was working. Luckily, Dean figured out what was going on and started yelling at Zachariah to let him go. I waved at Cas who finally looked at me with a weak smile. I nodded my head toward Dean with a puppy dog pout. He looked between the three of us and finally grabbed his angel blade. Was he actually going to fight Zachariah right now?

But he surprised me. He slit his own hand and began to draw on the wall while Zachariah who was distracted with Dean arguing about wanting to see Sam. “Hey, Zachariah,” once he had our attention he raised a hand dramatically, “He said he wanted to see his brother.”

Then he touched the wall and a blinding light filled the room. When it passed, Zachariah was gone. “Cas? Did you just…...break the rules?” Dean looked flabbergasted.

Cas looked directly at me, “Well, I promised I’d do my best.”

“What does that mean? Who are you looking at?” I guess he still couldn’t see me. Cas nodded and my mouth loosened up again. He came and placed a hand on my shoulder, and I watched Dean’s eyes widen, “Audrey?!”

“Hey.” It’s all I could think to say, I still didn’t really know what was going on.

“Where have you been?! You never came back from praying to Cas—” He turned to Cas, “You said you didn’t know where she was! It’s been like two weeks!!”

“I will explain everything on the way,” Cas pulled me by my hand over to Dean, “But that vigil just expels angels from the room. We don’t have forever, and we need to stop Sam from bringing Lucifer back.” The next few moments passed in a whirlwind; we took a detour to Chuck’s house to get the location of Lucifer’s rising place. Cas stayed behind to fight archangels, but he sent me and Dean directly to the church where Lucifer was.

“Dean…. I think we’re too late.”

He didn’t answer. We ran into the church to find Ruby announcing she was evil the whole time and Lilith was the last seal. Dean grabbed her knife and stabbed her while Sam held her down. It was kind of a horrible sight. The worst out of all these events was Sam’s heartbroken face as the lights started flickering, “I didn’t know…. Lilith was the last seal…. I didn’t know.”

“It’s fine, Sam. What’s important right now is that we get out of here alive!” I yelled back. But the doors slammed shut; we were trapped. A blinding light began to build, and then we were back at Bobby’s unharmed.

D E A N

“So, Sam is completely fine?”

“Duh! What else would the celebratory pie be for??”

“Fair enough, so where is the little rascal?”

She gestured up with her head, “He’s asleep. He hasn’t slept in like a week.”

I nodded and sat next to her, finally eyeing her charm bracelet, “Can I see that?”

She followed my eyes to her wrist and laughed, “Oh, right. You have taken quite an interest in this thing.”

It was our first time really being alone since our weird ‘alternate universe’ romance. I wasn’t ashamed of how I’d acted, but I wasn’t sure how to move forward from this point. We were technically strangers during that time, we couldn’t risk our friendship now that we were back to normal. I was shocked when I really looked at it, it looked exactly like the one my mom was wearing when I met her. There were sigils and warding signs, but on Audrey’s, there was a locket in the center. I snapped it open to see a picture of a younger Audrey with her brother and Bobby. They looked like a happy family, and Bobby’s famous quote was etched on the heart. I read it aloud, “We really got lucky, didn’t we?”

She nodded, staring at the picture, “I don’t know how I got here, but every day I feel more grateful.”

I couldn’t take my eyes off of her. I was the lucky one, really. She’d given me countless chances: after I was framed, after I killed her brother, after I was a jerk to her, even after I lied to her. I was nothing but terrible, yet she trusted me. She cared about me. I am the lucky one. I handed her the bracelet, “Thanks for the pie, by the way.” She laughed as I scarfed down a second plate of it, “But Sam doesn’t appreciate good food.”

She pointed at me like I’d made her point, “Right?! I just got him a salad and a smoothie.”

“You’re an angel.”

That made her laugh again, “Ouch.”

“No!” I put a hand on her arm, “I mean, seriously. You’re super sweet.”

She pretended to puke in her mouth, “Whatever, drama queen. Let’s go check on Sleeping Beauty.” I rolled my eyes but headed up with her.

“I can’t believe we lost. And it’s all my fault, too.” Sam was sitting up, pressing a hand to his head. I didn’t want to argue because he’s still fragile, but I wanted to yell at him. A lot.

“Sam, none of us knew,” Audrey was looking at Sam like he was completely innocent, “The angels were lying to us, the demons had a plan all along, we had no one to help up out.”

“You knew,” I mumbled, I couldn’t help myself.

“What?”

“You said that none of us knew, but you did,” I turned to my brother, “Audrey figured it all out and they hid her away from us so that we wouldn’t know anything. But if she could figure it out, we should have caught on too.”

Sam nodded slowly, “So why do we trust any angels?”

Audrey sighed, “Cas was good.” She looked devastated, but smiled fondly as his name left her lips, “He died to help us escape. Y’know, he even promised he’d hang out with us more.”

“Well, now he’s dead and frankly---”

“Hello, Dean.” I nearly fell out of my chair when I heard his gravelly voice.

“Cas?” Audrey ran over and hugged the angel, a smile plastered on her face, “You survived?!”

“Not exactly. I was dead, but before I knew it, I was at a church perfectly unharmed.

“Yeah,” Sam sat up, excited, “We were teleported here instead of dying in the blast when Lucifer rose.”

“Interesting,” Cas sat down next to Audrey, “It seems that someone thinks we’re important.”

“Yeah, right,” I scoffed, “Who would care about us? Or even have the power to pull something off like that?” I didn’t expect an answer from Cas, he never answered me. I expected an answer from Audrey, and I could already see her thinking through things in her mind.

I watched her eyes light up as she looked at Cas, “You think God’s back.”

I scoffed again, Cas would want him back for sure but that doesn’t mean that God magically came back just to save three hunters and a wayward angel. “Lucifer is back, like it or not, which means the apocalypse will happen unless God himself stops it. He is the only one who can stop Lucifer,” Cas explained.

Sam nodded, “We need to find him.”

“C’mon guys, seriously?! Cas, have you ever even met the guy?” He shook his head and I pointed at him, “Exactly! And even if he were back, why would he help a rogue angel and a couple of idiots who opened the cage in the first place!?!”

“Dean—”

“You’re all acting like children. We can’t wait for someone else to come and fix our problems. We need to own up to it and fix it ourselves.”

“Dean, you can’t say yes to Michael---”

“Of course not, Audrey. But we will find a way. Remember, Cas? We are Team Free Will. We will figure it out and change destiny just like we always do.”

Cas nodded and put a hand on Audrey’s shoulder, looking into her eyes, “I will be back soon,” and he blipped away.

“What was that all about?” Sam asked with a snort.

She shrugged, but her cheeks were a bright red, “I’m not sure.”

“Whatever. Cas----”

“Guys, we have an incoming video call.”

Audrey crawled onto the bed next to Sam, and I reluctantly joined them. Sure enough, a call was coming in on the computer. “Becky Winchester? Really?” I asked, irritated.

“C’mon, Dean,” Audrey glared at me, “It could be anyone.”

Sam answered the phone and a bunch of squealing ensued, “OHMYOHMYOHMYOHMYOHMYOHMY---” The girl looked like she might pass out.

“Hey, hey. Careful. Breathe.” Sam guided the woman through her excitement while I checked out her background to get a handle on who she was. There were posters that looked oddly familiar. I squinted, leaning forward to get a better look. Sure enough, the posters all said ‘Supernatural’.

Great.

“YOU----YOU’RE SAM! And Dean!! And you…. you must be Audrey!!” She inhaled once, really loudly, and then, “OHMYOHMYOHMY---

“Okay, yeah. We’re done here,” I leaned forward to end the call.

“WAIT!! Wait, I have a message from Chuck. Chuck Shirley.”

Sam swatted my hand away, “Alright, we’re listening …. What’s your name?”

The girl smiled and got closer to the camera, “Becky,” She bit her lip, “My name’s Becky.”

Audrey hid behind Sam to hide her giggles. I made a face of exasperation at her, and she had to cover her eyes with her arm to stop herself from laughing out loud. I smiled to myself, she’s so cute. “Alright, Becky. How do you know Chuck?”

“I love his books. I love you.” There was a deafening silence for a while, I’m sure she was waiting for Sam to respond, but he didn’t. His mouth twitched, but he didn’t say anything, so she shook her head as if to break her fixation, “Anyway, he reached out with a message: the angels have lost Michael’s Sword. It is to be found in a castle on a hill made of 42 dogs.”

Audrey looked up at me through her fingers and mouthed, “Michael’s Sword?”

I shrugged and looked back at Becky, “What does that mean?”

“That’s all he said. I thought you would know what it meant.”

Luckily, Sam had just finished writing it down, “Alright, thanks, Becky. We’ll figure it out.”

She rested her hand on her chin with a sigh, “You always do, Sam.”

He pressed his lips together and nodded, “Right. Thanks again.”

“Wait, Sam, I—”

But he ended the call, sending Audrey into a fit of laughter, “Sam, that’s n-not….n-not a v-very nice thing to do to your g-girlf-friend.”

Her laughter was so contagious, that even Sam couldn’t resist and soon enough we were all crying from laughter.

When we finally collected ourselves, Sam looked back to the paper, “Okay, but obviously we’re gonna have to figure this out.”

“I think I have an idea. Let’s hit the road.”

“Alright, so Bobby’s on his way with info about Michael,” Audrey leaned back in her chair, resting her arms behind her head, “What exactly is this plan of yours, Dean?”

I was busy thinking about how Sam and Bobby had been arguing. Bobby had told Sam that he wanted nothing to do with him, which was very out of character for him, and Sam had been doing research ever since. I was really worried about him. I finally looked back to Audrey, “I dunno. Something about the message sounded familiar….it has to be here somewhere,” I flipped through a few more pages of Dad’s journal trying to find whatever it was /I was looking for. “I don’t know what to do with that boy,” I admitted while scanning the pages.

“Well, Dean, everyone thinks he’s the villain. The more we treat him that way, the farther we’ll push him away.”

“Are you saying that he’s not the one to blame?”

“I’m saying we need to be careful. He’s scared, he’s young, he made a mistake. We can help him.”

I shook my head slightly, but sighed, “You’re right. I don’t wanna lose my brother. Ever.” I flipped another page and my eyes finally landed on the spot, “Audrey, this is it. My dad had a storage facility, it’s where we found the cursed rabbit foot the week you went missing.”

“And?”

“And…it’s at a place called Castle Storage. On 42 Rover Hill.”

Her mouth fell open slightly, “Well, let’s go. We can’t be the only ones on the hunt for Michael’s Sword.”

As if on cue, the door flung open and three demons walked in, one of which was possessing Bobby. I immediately pulled out my gun and glanced at Audrey who had Ruby’s knife. “Okay, what are a couple of stunt demons doing with Bobby?”

The woman at the front looked hurt, “You mean you don’t remember me? After all we’ve been through, dreamy eyes?”

Realization hit me and I pressed my lips together in annoyance, “Meg.”

“Hey there, Sailor. Look, we just need you dead and then we’ll be on our merry way. We can’t have you stopping Lucifer, now can we?”

Ruby’s knife flew past me and landed square in the chest of Stunt Demon #2. “Nice shot, Audrey!”

But ‘Bobby’ took the distraction as an opening to attack. He swung at me, knocking me off my feet. Not fair, I can’t beat Bobby. Everything happened in a blur. I was being thrown around like a rag doll, Audrey screamed my name, and then I was pinned to the wall, pain raking through every inch of my body.

“Bobby, stop. You’d never hurt Dean. You can fi—” Audrey’s voice was cut off by a yelp. I struggled, but I couldn’t even see her to tell if she was okay.

I turned to Bobby instead, “Bobby, please.” My voice came out way more gravely than I thought, but Bobby’s body went rigid as he took the knife away from my throat and stabbed it into his own leg. The demon died in a flash of yellow as Bobby fell to the ground.

Sam came running in just in time for Meg to wink at him, “I’ll see you around, Sammy boy.” And she abandoned her vessel.

I groaned and put a hand to my throbbing head. It felt like I’d been shoved in a meat grinder. Then I remembered what had happened, “Bobby! Hey, man, are you okay?”

He was too far out of it to answer. I stoop up to find Sam helping Audrey to her feet. “We’ve got to get him to the nearest hospital then go straight to the storage unit,” she said.

“The storage---”

“Chuck’s clue,” I cut Sam off, picking Bobby up.

“Okay, okay. You two go. I’ll take Bobby to the hospital then meet you there.”

I nodded and passed Bobby to Sam before running out of the room with Audrey.

I had never driven faster in my life, the pressure was tearing me apart because if Chuck sent us the message, it must be important. It only took us 20 minutes to reach our destination. “Okay, so what exactly are we looking for? The instructions weren’t exactly specific.”

‘Right?” I added, “Would it kill the guy to gi---”

The sight of dead demons stopped me cold, clearly, Meg was a distraction. I pulled my gun out and gestured to Audrey. She nodded and we turned the corner together.

It was Zachariah.

“Dean!! I’m so glad you got my invite.”

“Where’s the weapon, Zach? That’s what we’re here for.”

He gave a look to each of his angel goons before smirking at us, “You do know that Heaven communicates to the prophets, right? We just planted a tad bit of false info into Chuck’s mind to get you here.”

I heard Audrey curse beside me. “It’s you,” She whispered.

“What?”

“You’re the Sword.”

I turned back to glare at Zachariah, “What do you want?”

“Well, now that Lucifer’s been freed, we need to get you prepared for your big day.”

I stuck my chin out, “No.”

His smile faltered and his eyes flickered to Audrey, “Hmmm well what happens if Audrey suddenly….” I heard her yell out in pain and turned to see her on the ground. “…broke a leg.” I was proud of her for not showing any weakness. She just stared at me and shook her head.

I turned back to the dumb angel in front of us, “Not gonna happen.”

“Ah, well little bro is just in time to break an arm.” I turned to see Sam run in and immediately cry out in pain. He held his arm and whimpered. I just stared defiantly at Zachariah.

He grunted, “Bobby will never walk again if you don’t say yes.”

“You know my answer.”

He smirked and twisted a hand. Suddenly, I was coughing up blood. My stomach felt like it was about to implode, but I shook my head. “Alright, there goes your girlfriend.”

It didn’t take me long to figure out what he meant, Audrey was turning purple and struggling to breathe. I ran to a side when a bright light filled the room.

When I could finally see again, Cas was there, holding her in his arms. He pressed two fingers to her forehead, and she passed out. “Castiel? But you’re dead.”

“Leave them alone, Zachariah.”

The older angel sneered, “We’re just trying to save the world.”

Cas sighed as he gently laid Audrey on the ground before casually strutting over and stabbing both angel goons. He grabbed Zachariah by the shirt and held a knife to his throat, “You’re trying to end it. These three are under my protection. Leave. Now.”

Just like that, Zachariah was gone. I laughed in surprise, “Thanks, man. I thought he’d never leave.”

But he wasn’t listening. He was at Audrey’s side, brushing the hair out of her face. My gut wrenched at the sight. She blinked into consciousness and broke into a smile, “Cas—”

“Shh, you’re hurt.” He pressed a hand to her stomach which glowed for a minute before dying out. He then did the same to me and Sam, “You three are now invisible to every demon and angel, including Michael and Lucifer.”

“Thanks, man.”

He nodded and Audrey called him back over to her, “Cas, Bobby’s in trouble.”

Cas nodded again and we were suddenly at the hospital. Bobby was understandably upset, and Cas couldn’t heal him for some reason. The doctors told us there wasn’t anything that could be done. We were all pretty nervous leaving the hospital knowing he would never walk again. I cursed myself, had I really done the right thing?


	17. We Belong Together

A U D R E Y

“Wait, what?”

“Raphael is my direct link to finding God who is our only shot at beating Lucifer.”

I rubbed my temples, “Cas, isn’t Raphael the angel that killed you last time?”

His eyes went to the ceiling before coming back to meet mine, “Yes. That’s why I need you.”

“Okay, fine. I’ll help you.”

He broke out into a smile, “Thank you. Now we just need Dean.”

I froze. Dean hadn’t been in a good place lately, “Are you sure?”

He nodded and grabbed my arm, immediately transporting us to a hotel room where Dean was sitting on the bed cleaning his gun. My heart stopped at the sight of him, his hair was a mess, so I had to bite back the urge to run my hands through it. He was wearing his green shirt that made his eyes pop. I would have swooned on the spot if Cas wasn’t holding me up. He looked at the two of us, his eyes finally landing on my arm that Cas was still holding. “Dean, I need your help.” I bit back a laugh at Castiel’s lack of social skills.

“What’s up?”

“I’m looking for God. I need your help.”

Dean made is ‘are you kidding?’ face. I sighed, I guess it’s up to me, “Dean, this is important to Cas. He thinks it’s the only way to stop Lucifer.”

Cas sat on the other bed, “You two are all that I have. And you don’t have to worry about your safety, Dean. No angel would dare to harm you, you’re Michael’s vessel.”

He nodded and sat back, crossing his arms, “Right. So, I get a pass, but what about Audrey? The last time we crossed paths with an angel she almost died.”

I sighed again, Dean, I---”

“She’s under my protection,” Cas interrupted, “No harm will come to her.”

A smile grew on my face. I couldn’t help it; Cas was just so charming. Dean’s jaw clenched and he looked over at me before nodding, “Okay. Alright. Where are we off to?”

Cas smiled and reached for my arm again, but I guess it was Dean’s turn to interrupt, “One condition, though, Cas. If we’re doing this, we’re driving.”

I giggled to myself. The idea of an angel riding in the Impala with us was hilarious.

But then I remembered Sam.

Sam and Dean had a huge falling out. Sam was wanting to go back to his ‘life’. He claimed that he only started hunting to get their dad back, and now he’s only causing problems. He wanted to be back at the books where he felt comfortable.

This, of course, broke Dean. I’d never seen him so upset. The most charming thing about Dean was how important his family was to him. No matter what had gone wrong or what challenges stood in the way, his family always took first place in his heart. I loved that about him. I watched him as we got into his dad’s car. His hard-set expression, the way his emotions seemed locked away. I’m sure he had to be dying inside, his brother had basically told him that he wasn’t enough.

I wanted to talk to him so badly, but this was my first time even seeing him since their fallout, and I knew he wouldn’t appreciate it since Cas as around. I just followed his lead and acted like everything was normal. The drive to Oklahoma didn’t take long. We had a lot of fun together and listened to some of Dean’s favorite songs. It was genuinely fun. We went straight to the police station to see what we could find out, “Alright, Cas, here’s your badge. You’re Agent Mills today, okay?” Dena handed him a badge and stepped out of the car.

We followed him out, but Cas stopped us before we got too far, “Why don’t we just tell the truth?”

Dean licked a finger and fixed Cas’s hair, “Because when humans want something really badly, we lie.”

Cas blinked, “Dean, I think we might be successful if we tell the truth.”

Dean gave me a look signaling me to step in, so I smiled at Cas, “Cas, humans just aren’t as smart as angels, they won’t understand, and they’ll probably think we’re the bad guys.”

“But we’re not.”

“We know that, but they don’t. Just trust us, okay?”

He nodded and we headed into the building. I thought it would be weird to hunt without Sam, but it felt just like normal. We showed our IDs to the cop and Dean practically had to take the badge out of Cas’s jacket. When Cas finally caught on, he showed his badge upside down. I stifled a laugh as Dean explained that Cas was still training and slipped into the back to speed up the process. I scanned the office until my eyes landed on an officer about my age scanning through reports. Bingo.

I put on my most flirtatious smile and headed his way, “Hey, officer. Do you mind if I join you?” I played with my hair a bit for extra measure.

He looked up and a light blush spread across his cheeks. He grinned, “Of course, Agent……?”

“Hadley. But you can call me Jessica.”

“Alright, Jessica.” He smiled and leaned forward, “The name’s Brent. What brings you to our office?”

I brushed my hair behind my shoulder, showing off my neck a bit, “We’re just looking for a fugitive. I’m sure you’ve already caught him, though, Brent. Look familiar?”

I slid him a picture, purposefully brushing his hand. It took a while for him to actually look at it, but once he did, he cleared his throat, “Erm. Yeah. We saw this guy in a big fight the other day, he’s in the hospital now. Guess he couldn’t take it.”

I grinned, “You’re amazing. Thank you, Officer.”

I headed out before he could ask me for my information. Dean was waiting for me in the lobby with a glare. “Let’s go to the hospital, boys.”

I headed out the door with them trailing behind. “You know I hate when you do that.”

I bit back a smirk, “Why’s that, Dean? It is the most effective tool we have, is it not?”

“We could just ask him. What if you flirt with the wrong guy and he stalks you and kills you?!”

I finally turned back to him, “Is this really about my safety, Dean?” I was giving him an opening, effectively making him blush.

“Yes!”

I touched his arm, “Your concern is very touching, Dean, but I think I’ll be okay.”

The look on his face made my heart flutter, there was something between us for sure. He cleared his throat, “Cas needs our help.”

“That would be nice,” Cas said as we piled into the car, “If he really is in the hospital it must be because of a weak vessel. Raphael is far too powerful to sustain an injury, but archangels can’t stay in a vessel for very long unless it is their true vessel. That’s why Michael wants Dean so badly.”

“Wow, Cas. You got really lucky picking a vessel.”

“He was a very devout man, I’m grateful for his sacrifice.”

“Is it weird to jump from body to body?”

Cas nodded, “It can be very disorienting, yes. Especially when I—”

“Alright,” Dean interrupted, “We’re here. And Cas, make sure you hold your badge the right way.” I laughed a bit; it was hard enough to hold it in before. Cas was just so innocent with his big eyes and clueless nature. It was adorable. We headed in and showed our badges to a nurse while Dean asked about the patient.

The nurse frowned, “I’m afraid you’re a little too late, agents. Ricky is actually brain dead.”

Yikes. Guess the vessel really struggled with the archangel. My eyes drifted to Dean; he can’t host Michael he’ll end up like this guy. “What about witnesses? Are there any other patients who were there?”

She nodded, “There was one,” She took us down the hall, “Derek Richards. He was also injured in the blast.”

We thanked her as she walked away. “I’m going to tell him the truth.”

“Cas, no.”

“Don’t,” I agreed. But as we walked in, I knew Cas wouldn’t listen.

“Mr. Richards? FBI,” We showed our badges once more, “We just have a few questions for you.”

The man groaned, “I’ve already talked to several people.”

I flashed him a smile, “We totally understand, but we think we have a lead on who did this to you. We just need to confirm a few details.” He smiled weakly at me and gave me a subtle nod.

“Derek,” Cas stepped forward, “You were fought by angels. Why?”

His smile faltered and he looked back at me. I grimaced and took a seat on the edge of his bed, “The Angels is what the gang called themselves. I’m sure they were going for irony.”

Derek let out a weak laugh, “Yeah, I’m not sure what their deal was but they were terrifying. I’ve never seen anything like them.”

“So, why did they let you live?” Dean was never one for subtlety. I rolled my eyes; I’m stuck with two idiots.

“Are you serious?” Derek asked, bewildered.

Cas leaned over to analyze Dean before nodding firmly, “That is his serious face, yes.”

I had to hold in a laugh, what a train wreck, “Derek,” I batted my eyelashes at him, “Did you happen to see this man at the fight?” I showed him a picture of Raphael’s old vessel and he nodded, paling.

“This will sound completely crazy, but it looked like a bunch of blue smoke left him and he collapsed to the ground.” His gaze switched back to Dean, “I guess that’s why I’m still alive.”

“So, he did leave the vessel.” Derek looked at Cas like he was an alien and I could barely contain my laughter. 

Dean smiled, “Alright, thank you. We got the confirmation we needed.”

Derek nodded and we headed out the door. I giggled a few times; Cas is just too funny. Dean broke out in laughter which set us off for the third time that day. It felt…. normal almost.

D E A N

“Alright, why are we here?” He had taken us to an abandoned house, and I was not feeling up for it. We couldn’t take a ghost and an angel army at the same time.

Cas disappeared and I threw my hands in the air, “What the---”

Two seconds later, Cas was standing right by Audrey holding some sort of pitcher. He looked at her with sad eyes and gestured to a table. She shot me a perplexed look and I shrugged, sitting down at Cas’s request. “C’mon, man. You’re making me worry that I did something wrong.”

Audrey sat across from me and Cas sat next to me, “There is only one way to get Raphael here, and that’s by summoning him.” I blinked hard, summon an archangel? “And I’m afraid this is where I say goodbye.”

“Woah---what? Cas, you can’t just drop a bombshell like that on us,” Audrey looked worried and that made me sick.

Cas shook his head, “I didn’t survive my last encounter with him. He will not let me go this time either. You two are here to finish the job once I’m gone.”

I sighed, “There’s so much you still haven’t done!! You haven’t tried my favorite foods. You haven’t seen Scooby-Doo. You haven’t even had a girlfriend,” I rose my arms in disgust, “Cas, you haven’t even had a girlfriend. This is unacceptable.”

Cas squinted and tilted his head, “I don’t understand. Angels don’t experience emotions the way humans do.”

“Well, you have now! That’s the reason you’re rebelling from Heaven, right? You love humans?”

I didn’t know what I was expecting, but my blood began to boil when he looked at Audrey, “Yeah, I guess you could say that.”

I held in a sigh but followed his eyes to Audrey. It’s no wonder Cas fell for her; she had her chin resting in her hand as if she had all the time in the world. Her brown hair cascaded over her shoulders in loose curls. The light shone on her, highlighting her deep blue eyes and the red tones in her hair. And her pink lips looked so enticing. All of that plus the rosy blush on her cheeks made her look like a princess. Confidence and kindness radiated from her.

But Cas is an angel. A dead one at that. I let my sigh go and slammed my hands to the table, “Alright. Before we trap this guy, let’s get you kissed at least. C’mon.”

A few minutes later we had a booth at the nearest restaurant, and I was teaching Cas about love. “Aha! Right there. That waitress keeps looking at you. That’s a good sign.”

“It is?”

“Yep, it means she thinks you’re cute, but she’s too shy to make the first move.”

Audrey rolled her eyes, “This is ridiculous.”

I pointed at a couple from across the restaurant, “See how he gives her his full attention? His body is leaned into hers; they’re not breaking eye contact. He’s treating her like a princess.”

Cas nodded, “okay.”

“And there! She’s touching his arm and playing with her hair. That’s a good sign for him.”

Audrey sighed, “Not every girl is like that.”

I shrugged, “Watch this.”

I grabbed a waiter who was passing by, “Excuse me, I seem to be lost. Can I get directions to your heart?”

It was cheesy, and I knew it. But I needed to prove Audrey wrong. The waitress smirked and sat back into her hip, “Ah, poor boy. Must be tough with your sense of direction. I’d bet you never find your way to a good pick up line.”

She flashed a smile at me and handed me a paper with her number on it before walking away, “And that’s flirting, Cas. It means we like each other.”

“But…. but she was mean to you.”

I nodded with a low whistle, “That’s the most powerful kind of flirting, Cas when they are sarcastic with you.”

Another nod from Cas, “Okay. So, you and Audrey must really like each other then.”

I choked and Audrey dropped her cup on the table. “What?!” She asked as I said something like, “djrgie no way.”

Another head tilt squinty expression came from Cas, “But you do all of these things to each other.”

“Alright, Cas. Here comes that’s into you,” I waved her over to take the pressure off of us, “Excuse me, my shy and devastatingly handsome partner here has been admiring you for a while. He really likes you.”

That’s when things happened really fast. She grabbed him by the tie and walked to the back of the restaurant. I laughed and finally looked back to Audrey who was tilting the saltshaker back and forth. “Hey, what’s wrong?”

“Hmm?” She replied, absentmindedly, “Oh, nothing.”

“Well, you just missed Cas getting his first girlfriend.”

A smile played on her lips and she finally looked up at me, “No, I saw that. Quality entertainment.”

I grinned and leaned forward, “So, do you think that this plan will work?”

I was like all of the light drained from her face, “I don’t know, Dean. I agreed to help Cas because I thought it was just a goal of his. I didn’t think…. I didn’t know it was a suicide mission.”

I shrugged, “He’ll be fine. If things were that serious, he wouldn’t have brought you along. He cares about you. A lot.”

Her eyes lit up again and a smirk formed on her lips, “Oh, does he?”

I nodded and she leaned forward, placing a hand on mine, “And how do you feel about that, Mr. Lady’s Man?”

I felt my heart pick up but right before I could answer a scream erupted from where Cas had gone. Audrey and I jolted up and ran to the back to find Cas standing there alone.

“Cas? What happened?”

He just looked confused, “I just told her that her dad hated his job and was depressed because her mom walked out on him. It wasn’t her fault that he left her too. She needed to let go of that guilt.”

Audrey and I exchanged looks and burst into laughter, “How romantic, Cas. Dean’s taught you well.”

We left before Cas could get in trouble, but we laughed the entire way back to the house.

Cas had explained that holy oil acts like a steel cage to angels and also that angels are connected to their vessels. So, we made a plan. We placed a trap of holy oil in our secret hideout, then we paid the brain-dead vessel a trip at the hospital. After encircling him with the holy oil as well, we went to the hideout hoping that it would work. “Well, hopefully, Raphael is better than Michael and Lucifer,” Audrey said, looking out the window of Baby. “Not a fan of archangels so far.”

Cas nodded, also looking out the window, “Raphael is no different.”

“How many archangels are there?” I asked

“Four. The last one is Gabriel, but he hasn’t been seen for centuries.” That didn’t seem right to me, how does an archangel go missing? But I just nodded as we pulled up to our creepy warehouse.

We walked in to find Raphael waiting for us, smirking, “Wrong move, boys.”

I dropped a lighter to the ground, igniting the holy fire in a ring around Raphael, “Except we’ve been expecting you.”

Pure shock and anger flashed across Raphael’s face, “Wha--- look, Castiel. God is dead. He’s gone for good. That’s why all of this is happening. If he were still alive, we wouldn’t be in this mess.”

“Why am I alive then?” I almost laughed, but I managed to hold it in.

Raphael glared at Cas which would probably be menacing if he wasn’t trapped right now, “Lucifer brought you back. It’s the only explanation. He wants more fallen angels to join him.”

I was surprised when Audrey spoke up, “Why would Lucifer resurrect and protect the four people who are going to kill him?”

“Yeah, nice try, man,” I added and we headed out the door. We walked to the Impala and I thought about how hurt Cas must be right now. As soon as we started the drive home, I sighed, “Look, Cas. I know a little something about absent fathers. My dad was missing for a very long time and every logical explanation was that he was dead. But something inside of me just… knew. I just knew that they were all wrong. So, screw Raphael and what he believes. He obviously doesn’t know anything at all.”

“You’re right, Dean. I know God is alive.”

“Then go for it, Cas! Find him. You can be the one who changes things,” Audrey added from the back, “They may think of you as a traitor, but in my perspective, you are the only real angel. You are doing the right thing.”

Cas gave her a smile and they stared at each other for a while which made me squirm in my seat. “Yeah, Cas. We’re thrilled to have you with us, man.”

I could feel his gaze turn on me, super intense. It was weirding me out. “How are you, Dean?”

I thought about it for a moment before breaking into a smile, “You know what, Cas? I’m the happiest I’ve been in a long time. You, Audrey, and I make a great team. I’m happy to be away from my family. And I haven’t laughed with Sam even half as much as I’ve laughed on this hunt with the two of you.”

Cas nodded, “Well we’re always here for you, Dean. We both care about you. But you should make things right with Sam. We don’t want to lose him.”

“I will when it’s time.”

“She’s worried about it.”

“Who, Audrey?” I looked back to see she was asleep. Seeing as she usually can’t sleep, Cas definitely had a hand in this.

He nodded, “She worries about your family. She worries about you.”

“Yeah, Cas, that’s the kind of person she is.”

“She is quite extraordinary,” he echoed with a smile.

I debated with myself for a while about commenting or not. Finally, my curiosity got the better of me. “You love her, don’t you?”

I got a classic Cas look in response, “Dean, I don’t feel emotions the wa---”

I glared at him and he sighed, “I care about Audrey a lot. Just as I care for all of you.”

He was intentionally avoiding my question which made me nervous, “Alright, Cas. What’s next on your plan for finding God?”

“Research.”

A cold shiver ran down my back, I hate that word. “Okay. Well, we’re always here to help you.”

Cas gave me a sad smile, “Fix your family first.” Then he blipped away.


	18. It's the End of the World as We Know It

I was thinking a lot about what Cas had said when Sam called, but I couldn’t do it. I knew that the world would just use us to hurt each other so I pushed him away again. Finding out that he was the true vessel for Lucifer really set everything in stone for me; we had to be apart. What I wanted more than anything was to talk to Audrey about everything, but she was still out cold. I sighed and carried her into the motel room. I was beyond exhausted and Cas already had plans for the next day. I tucked her into one bed and immediately passed out in the other one.

I could immediately tell that something wasn’t right as soon as I woke up. Audrey was gone for one thing, but the hotel looked like it had barely survived the zombie apocalypse. And yeah, I was tired last night, but I don’t think I could have hallucinated this much. All I knew is that I needed to find Audrey.

I left the building to find that the zombie apocalypse look wasn’t unique to the motel, and I couldn’t find my car anywhere. Or any car for that matter. Which could only mean one thing.

Why does this keep happening to me?

“Audrey?” I called, looking around frantically. The last weird universe I was transported to, Sam and Audrey were there with me. I can hope for that again, right? I turned the corner to another scare. ‘Croatoan’ was written in graffiti on the wall, “Sunuva----”

To make matters worse, I could hear shots from the other side of the wall. Even though they were distant, I held my breath and crept forward to peak around the corner. An entire battle was taking place on the other side. An army was shooting down Croatoan zombies and I cursed under my breath. This is such a nightmare.

I ran as fast as I could until I found a car and hot wired it. At least they had cars in this awful place. I sighed again as I started driving away with no end goal in mind. Okay, so Audrey is gone, everyone is dying from the Croatoan virus. What would Audrey say about this situation?

She’d say this is what happens if Lucifer wins.

That’s when Zachariah appeared next to me, “Awe man, Croatoan virus has officially taken over Australia.”

I glared at him, and caught the date----four years into the future----on his newspaper, “What did you do this time, Zach?”

“Well, Dean,” he folded the newspaper, “This is what happens if you don’t say yes to Michael. Everyone will die. Everyone.” I stayed silent, irritated that this guy could still do this stuff to me, “I want you to spend three days here and just think about your decision.”

I rolled my eyes, “And after the three day?”

“You say yes to Michael.”

I opened my mouth to protest, but he was gone. Perfect timing too since I spotted the Impala parked on the side of the road. Well, sort of. It looked like it had been abandoned and hidden for years, “Awe, Baby. What did they do to you?”

I ran out and started cleaning her up. If I’m going to be in this world for a while, I might as well drive my own car. I leaned over to start my car up when pain shot through my head and everything went dark.

“I don’t know. I found yo--- him? I found him by the car.” My heart warmed at the sound of Audrey’s voice. Maybe she’s here after all and I don’t have to do this alone. “I didn’t know what to do, but I made sure no one saw him.”

“You’re the best, what would I do without you?” Wait…. was that….?

“You wouldn’t last a day, you idiot.” This exchange sounded far too familiar, but there’s no way it could be me and Audrey, because I’m right here.

“I think he’s waking up, Sweetheart. You’d better get outta here.” I heard footsteps followed by silence. I wasn’t sure what to do, I tried moving my arms, but I was handcuffed to something. “Alright, I know you’re awake. Who are you and what do you want?”

I took that as a sign to open my eyes.

It was me that was looking back at me. An angrier, dirtier, much cooler version of me, but definitely me. “Okay, look man. It’s me, I’m you. Dean Winchester. I’m from the year 2010.”

He (I?) looked at me like I was crazy but pulled a chair up and sat backwards in it, “If that’s true, tell me something only I would know.”

I sighed. Of course I would do something like this, I sighed, “Well, we carry mom’s picture with us everywhere. We love Sam, but he’s our weakness so we have to stay away from him. Sometimes we wish we weren’t raised in the hunting life. I wish I was normal.”

He nodded, “All true things, but easy to guess. I need something deeper.”

Groaning, I leaned forward as much as I could, “One time in sixth grade I put a piece of gum in my teacher’s hair and didn’t get caught. I think I might actually like carrots, but I’ll never tell anyone that. Right now Cas has a weird relationship with Audrey that kind of freaks me out because if they start dating they’ll totally make things awkward in the group. But may---”

Future me waved a hand, “Okay, okay. So, who did this to us?” After a moment, recognition shown in his eyes, “Zachariah?”

I nodded, “He’s trying to get me to say yes to Michael.”

Future me’s expression darkened, “Well you should.”

“What? But I thou---”

“You’re from 2010. I get it, I had a lot of emotions going on that year, and one of those was that I would never work with Michael. That was a huge mistake.”

I shook my head firmly, “C’mon, man. Michael would do much worse than any other possibility.”

“No, Michael is the only one who can save us from the end of everything. And it’s too late to get his help now, I’ve tried everything. The demons are ending the world with the Croatoan Virus and there is nothing we can do to stop it.”

“What about Sam? Where is he?”

Future me pulled out his gun and started cleaning it, something I always did when I didn’t want to talk about something. “I hadn’t talked to Sam since 2010. He had a showdown with Lucifer, but he lost.”

He swallowed hard and I stared at the ground, maybe I was wrong to push my brother away, “We can change things. I know we can. It doesn’t have to be like this.”

“I’ve done everything I could, we’ve been fighting for years and now look where we are.” His walky talky cut him off, summoning him to battle.

“Hey, you gonna let me go?” He shook his head and started gathering up his things, “What, you can’t trust yourself?”

He looked me dead in the eyes, “Would you? Listen, I’m taking care of this entire camp. If they saw me from four years ago, it would mess them up. Stay here until I figure out what to do with you.” And he left me alone.

Which was great, cause now I can find out what’s really going on. There was a picture of Cas and Bobby on the table, so they had to be here somewhere. I hadn’t seen any evidence of Audrey, so I might have been wrong about hearing her voice. I picked at the ground until I reached a nail to pick the handcuffs, then I walked out the door.

“Chuck?”

“Dean… didn’t you just leave?”

I cleared my throat, “Er… yeah, but I need to see Cas. Where is he?”

“Well, if you’re not heading out then I have a lot to talk to you about. We’re runn---”

“Cas?”

Chuck looked shocked, but nodded his head at the building next door, “Where he always is.”

I thanked him and marched straight into the room, expecting Cas to be injured or something that would force him to always be in the same place. Instead, I found him with a group of girls that began trickling out, each one giving me a head nod as they passed. Finally, Castiel was revealed. A bearded, hippie Cas, but still Cas. “Alright,” I couldn’t help the face I pulled at him, he didn’t even sound like my friend, “You’re Dean, but you’re obviously not Dean.” I opened my mouth to explain, but he kept going, “This was Zachariah wasn’t it?” I nodded and he snapped, “What year are you from?”

“2010.”

“Yikes, that one’s a killer.”

“Cas… why are you a hippie?”

He broke into laughter, “Life, man. I dunno. Heaven’s gone; things are different.”

“What about Audrey? Is she okay?”

He gave me a knowing smile that completely pissed me off, “She’s fine, lover boy. You haven’t seen her yet?”

I gritted my teeth, “I’m just worried. Sam’s dead, you’re super…. Weird, Bobby’s gone. I thought something happened to her too.”

“Nah, you two stick it out. C’mon, let’s go get her.” I wasn’t sure I wanted to see her, but something about the words Cas was using were weirding me out so I followed him. We walked out and I looked over the camp. Things looked terrible; I clearly wasn’t doing a good job of protecting these people. A lump formed in the back of my throat.

That’s when a girl bumped into me, “Oh, sorry sir.” I looked up to see a pretty blonde girl; she was short and smiled up at me before heading on her way. She looked back over her shoulder with a wink and a little wave.

“That’s Risa. She has quite the crush on you.”

I frowned, “Well it doesn’t seem like me to not go after her.” Cas laughed in response, so I gave him a dirty look, “What? Why are you laughing?”

He shrugged with a smirk, “Let’s just say… your priorities have changed.”

My heart sank a little, it was a little insensitive of me to be joking about these kinds of things when these people are quite literally fighting to survive. That’s when future me decided to show up. He pulled up in a jeep and announced the mission a success before shooting his partner, causing anger to bubble up inside me. Apparently, future me is a jerk. “He was infected, he would’ve been lost within an hour.”

I thought that was a terrible excuse, but the campers seemed to be a little too familiar with that. So familiar, in fact, that they were all staring at me and muttering amongst themselves until future me noticed and whisked me off for the chastisement of a lifetime.

About half an hour later, a team was formed. Cas sat in the back, Risa to his left, and Chuck was to my right. I guess future me had a plan of some sort, which he set into motion by placing The Colt on the table. The Colt. “Woah, where did you get that?

Future me grimaced, “Lot’s of time and lots of sacrifice. They’ve been moving it around for five years, and we finally got it.”

I let out a low whistle, “Awesome.”

He leaned forward, eyes scanning over the small team, “This is it. We’re gonna kill Lucifer.”

Of course! My heart sped up; Zachariah wanted me to feel depressed about the future but there is always hope. I smiled at the lectures Audrey and Sam would give me about it. ‘Hope is all we have’ they would say, ‘it’s kind of the whole point.’

That’s when the door opened, and an angel walked in.

Not an actual angel, of course, those guys suck.

It was Audrey. Just…. Not my Audrey. “Sorry I’m late, guys. I had to stop Justin from—” I couldn’t hear anything she said after that, I was too distracted by how different she was. She was caked in dirt and blood, her hair down in a braid that was just messy enough to be super hot. And she was confident, she had an air of authority about her. She was wearing tiny shorts and a white crop top, and I literally had to bite my tongue to stop my jaw from dropping. She flashed a smile at the group, but her blue eyes didn’t have their usual shine. She clearly was not happy, “I just need to borrow Dean for a second.”

I would have stood up if Cas hadn’t put an arm on my shoulder. Right, I’m not her Dean. She’s not my Audrey. I snapped back to reality to see them talking. They were standing so close to each other; you probably couldn’t fit a book in between them. He brushed some of her hair behind her ear and they were wearing grins that I had seen before on countless people.

No way. Nuh-uh. They couldn’t be together together. They’re in the middle of a war for Heaven’s sake. I snuck glances at the other group members, but they all seemed to be preoccupied with the ceiling. The scowl on Risa’s face made me think I wasn’t alone in my thought process.

Finally, Audrey came to sit right next to Cas and future me turned back to the group, “Alright, so Audrey’s got Lucifer’s location from the demon we captured last week. We end this today.”

Cas shook his head slightly, “That place will be crawling with demons and Croatoans, we need to be more careful.”

Future me shrugged, “We will make it work. Together.”

I couldn’t believe what I was hearing, “You don’t even have a plan?! You can’t just show up with four people and expect to win, that’s suicide.”

Future me scowled, but Cas laughed, “Awe man, I miss the old you.”

Dean (from the future) glared at me, “This is our only chance. Lucifer could move at any second, we take this chance, or everyone dies.”

“Go team!!” Chuck added weakly.

Chuck, Cas, and Risa left to begin packing and I stared at my counterpart who was just glaring back at me, “Dean, the most important take away from your little trip is this: Say yes to Michael when you have the chance.”

I stood up, “What don’t you get about this?!?! If I say yes to Michael, half of the world will die!”

“Better half the planet than the entire planet. Saying yes is the only chance we had.” Then he stormed out without another word. I was shaking now; I can’t believe that I would ever get to a point like this. Ever.

“You’ll have to give yourself a break, slugger.” I almost jumped ten feet at the sound of Audrey’s voice. She walked around and took future me’s seat in front of me, “Let me tell you something… We lost Sam five years ago.”

“Yeah, he lost in a fight with Lucifer, Dean told me.” It was still weird referring to myself in the third person.

But she shook her head, “Nope. Baby Dean, Sam said yes to Lucifer that day. If he hadn’t, we might have still had a shot. But My Dean has lost faith. He knows that if Sam says yes to Lucifer then you have to say yes to Michael in order to stop millions from dying.”

I shook my head, “There’s always hope, you taught me that.”

I caught the twinkle in her eyes as she smiled “Of course there’s hope, Dean. You are our hope. You can go back and make the choices we were too weak to make.”

My chest tightened; this doesn’t feel right at all. Audrey was the number one opposer of Michael’s plan. I knew she had to know something that I didn’t, she’s always the smart one. I thought back to everything she had said, and it clicked. ‘If’. I knew what I had to do. I grinned, “Dang it. How are you so good at this? You’re literally the smartest person I know.”

She shrugged, “I just get better with time, baby. How’s 2010 treating you?”

I laughed, “It’s a mess.”

“It was a tough one,” she looked up at the ceiling, as if she was reminiscing or maybe thinking over her next words, “I have to be careful, my Dean doesn’t want me to give much away.”

“Sounds about right.”

She smiled again, “Dean, just…. Be patient with me, okay? And just… follow your heart. Don’t think too much.”

That was some pretty crappy advice, “What’s that? A collection of fortunes from fortune cookies?”

“I have full confidence in you, Dean. You will change the future. Maybe then I won’t have to watch your light go out.” She walked over and pressed a kiss to my cheek, “C’mon. Let’s get going before they think we chickened out.”

I ran straight into Chuck when I walked out. “So, if you’re really from the past I have one piece of advice for you: Hoard toilet paper. Hoard it like it’s gold. Cause it is.”

I nodded, “Alright, man.”

“And enjoy life while you can, things changed way too quickly.”

That made me think. We never know what the future holds yet we sit around whining and arguing… it really is best just to enjoy the moment. Audrey was right, I need to change things. Chuck ran off and I just sat there thinking through things. So this is what happens if we don’t work it out. The world ends.

Cas beckoned me over to a truck and I grimaced. I never thought I’d see this. “Looks like you’re riding with me, partner.”

I gave him the side eye, “You can drive? Since when?”

“There’s lots of things I need to catch you up on.” He nodded his head toward the truck, “Get in.”

We climbed in the truck and Cas sighed, “You know… things just spiraled out of control. I became human because of my love for humanity but look at me now.”

“C’mon, Cas. Being human isn’t all that bad.”

He shrugged, “It’s not bad. But it’s depressing. I surrounded myself with girls and drugs thinking they’d make me happy. But it turns out, in the end all we have is family.”

I nodded slowly, “Dang it, Cas. You’ve changed so much.”

“Well,” he smirked, “The end of the world does that to people. I’ve lost track of who I am, but I’m just glad I still have you by my side.”

I furrowed my brow, “Speaking of Future Me…. Where is he? Shouldn’t we be heading out?”

Cas surprised me again with a smirk, “Like I said; he has other priorities.” His gaze flickered up to the rearview mirror so naturally, I looked as well. And my heart stopped.

It was like watching myself in a movie. Future me was hiding behind a hill with Audrey. He was holding her to his chest and stroking her hair, it was a position we found ourselves in often, but it looked adorable from the third person perspective. She leaned back enough for me to tell she was crying, then she wrapped her arms around his neck, and they kissed.

Audrey and I were kissing. But not really Audrey…. And not really me…. but it still felt really weird, “W-wh… wait, Audrey and I are t-together in the f-future?” My voice came out about an octave higher than usual.

Cas laughed, but I didn’t take my gaze off the mirror as future me hugged Audrey’s waist and danced her around slightly, her head laying against his chest. “Oh yeah, you two have been crazy about each other since forever.”

My heart felt heavy, but I reminded myself that this was all fake. Zachariah was fabricating a future that would make me do whatever he wanted. None of this is real. Audrey isn’t an assassin, Cas isn’t a hippie, I’m not a commander, and Sam is definitely not going to say yes to Lucifer.

“This isn’t real.”

“I mean, believe what you want, but the two of you are practically made for each other.”

I cleared my throat as their movie moment ended and shifted in my seat. I still wasn’t used to watching myself do things. “Well, I guess we’re heading off. How far away is this place anyway?”

Cas smirked as Dean walked by my window. “We’ll be there faster than you can say Croatoan.”

He was right. Before I knew it, we were pulling up to an old mansion guarded by demons. We regrouped behind future me’s jeep. “Okay, so we need Team A to gank the demons up there,” he pointed to a window, “You can sneak in there,” he pointed to a different window, “where it’s unguarded.”

My heart sank; it was a trap, “Excuse me, uh, me. Can we talk for a minute?” I pulled him to the side, glaring, “Why would you lead your team—your family—into a trap?”

“I don’t know what you’re talking about.”

My glare remained, “Yes, you do! I saw you make the face. The lying face.”

He frowned, “I get it. You’re loyal and brave, but this had to be done. We have to create a diversion. It’s the only way I have a chance.”

I began to feel completely numb as his words settled in, “This is a suicide mission.”

He shrugged, looking uncomfortable, “I don’t plan to walk away alive, but I do plan on taking down Lucifer today.”

I stood up, “Not at the expense of your team. I won’t let you.”

Then everything went black again.

When I came to my vision was blurred, but I could hear enough to make out the battle raging on. Screams and bullets were coming from every direction. I dragged myself to the garden, hoping to get a better position, but that’s apparently where all the action was. It was Sam. San was standing on…. Well, he was about to kill me. Future me, who was crying, “Sam, I know you’re still in there. You need to fight this.”

Sam threw his head back and let out a cold laugh, “Your brother’s gone, Dean. I’ve won.” Even though it looked like Sam, it didn’t sound like him at all. I shivered in fear.

“You’ll never win.” Those were my last words before Sa--- Lucifer killed me. I gasped (not a good idea) and he turned his attention to me.

“Didn’t I just kill you?”

I frowned, “No, I’m from before this time. I’m here to stop you from ever reaching this point.”

He smirked, “Interesting,” he plucked a rose from the garden and examined it carefully, “The world really is so beautiful; it’s a shame this had to happen.”

“Yeah, okay. You hate everything about this place,” I scoffed.

He shook his head, clicking his tongue, “That’s where you’re all wrong. I love this. All of it. I loved God and that’s why he punished me. I loved him too much,” He twirled the rose.

“Yeah, nice sob story. Save it for the press. I’m going back to my time where I’ll kill you.”

The corner of his lips turned up, “Wrong again, Deano. No matter what road you take, no matter what choices you make, we end here. This is the end of your story. I will see you again very soon, Dean.” And he was gone.

It was then that I noticed everything had gone silent. Meaning…. Nothing good. I left my corpse to look for my friends, bolting past the piles of dead demons on all sides. It was a good sign, maybe there was only one casualty in all of this. But when I passed Risa’s body on the stairs, that possibility left my mind. Horrified, I peeked into the first room on the left to find Cas’s body alone. His gun was halfway across the room, and he looked completely mutilated. I swallowed hard, forcing my thoughts away from his pale body. I pressed on, hoping for the best but expecting the worst. That’s when I saw her. Her limp body was slumped against the wall, bloody and pale. Her lifeless eyes pierced into my soul; begging me to fix things.

That’s when the image faded away, leaving her eyes burned into my memory.

“So, Dean. Has your heart been changed?”

“Yeah. Yeah, I learned a lesson. Just not the one you’d intended.”

Zachariah looked pissed, teeth clenched and face red, “What?!?”

I smirked at him, “I’m gonna find my brother. My answer is still no.”

He leaped at me, but I was frozen in fear; I can’t let this be the way I go out, that would be embarrassing.

And suddenly I was next to Cas in a street. “Cas,” I sighed of relief, “Nice timing.”

He shrugged with a smile, “We had an appointment.”

“Don’t you ever change.”


	19. The Fame

A U D R E Y

Life is always weird with the Winchesters, but this takes the cake. The past few weeks had been straight-up crazy with Cas blipping me out of a hotel room to save me from Zachariah, getting stuck in a series of TV shows with no escape, finding out The Trickster was Gabriel--- the archangel.

Luckily, Sam and Dean had repaired their relationship pretty quickly. Dean had apparently gone on a life-changing field trip to the future where the Croatoan virus had taken over the world. The weirdest part was that I was some kind of assassin, he was a general, and Cas was a hippie….? He was really interested in how it all happened because we were all the same people at the core, but our grief had changed us on the outside. Interesting stuff. On another note, Sam had said yes to Lucifer in this alternate universe which had convinced Dean to salvage their relationship. Luckily, the team was back together.

And now we were facing something somehow weirder than all of that.

A large red banner read, ‘Supernatural Convention!’

We all stood in the lobby, bewildered, staring at a bashful Chuck. “Chuck,” Dean growled, “You texted us SOS. We thought you were in danger.”

Chuck looked miserable. It was hard to believe that he was a prophet when he was such a small, pathetic man, “It wasn’t me.”

A small scream erupted behind him, and I literally had to bite my lip to keep from laughing, “You really came!! Oh, this will be amazing!!” Becky wrapped Sam up in a hug as Dean coughed.

I exchanged looks with him; of course it was Becky behind all of this. At least it should be a fairly entertaining weekend. “Well, what are you waiting for? Come inside!! You’ll love this!”

I grabbed Dean’s arm and stood on my tiptoes to whisper in his ear, “Is it just me, or is Becky trying to look like Ellen?”

Dean just laughed in response as we entered an entirely new room of weird. His laugh came to a stop as we realized she was trying to look like Ellen. In fact, everyone in the room was dressed to look like someone we know. There were a couple of Castiel’s in dirty trench coats and blue ties. A few Bobby’s in his signature hat and open blue flannel. There were even a few dressed up as me on a chill day, with sundresses or jeans and a blouse. They had their hair tied up in a curly ponytail, as I often did, and I think I even saw someone wearing a bracelet like mine. My hand went to my own bracelet in self-consciousness. This….is weird.

Of course, the majority was made up of Deans and Sams. The Deans had the leather jacket, black t, and even the necklace that Sam gave Dean when they were younger. The Sams wore various flannels buttoned to the top, and their hair long. Honestly, it was terrifying. How did they even know what we looked like? I grabbed each of the boys’ forearms in panic. “Ummmm…. I don’t think we’re in Kansas anymore,” I whispered.

Sam pressed his lips together and Dean had a bewildered look glued to his face. We stood in the back as everyone sat down facing a giant stage. My attention turned to the decorations. There was a huge logo on the stage behind Chuck, giant posters hanging everywhere, and ‘props’ that looked exactly like our real-life weapons.

“Again, I’d like to thank you all for coming. Today’s schedule will go as follows: the hunting event will take place directly after this meeting. It will be followed by a Q & A panel about the books. Starting at five o’clock we will have the shipping debate. The auction starts at six-thirty. Dinner will start at eight and we will head to bed after that. But don’t forget to bring your fanart tomorrow!”

Chuck kept talking, but I was in shock, “How are these books so famous? It…. It is really weird.”

Sam shrugged, “I---I don’t know. The room is packed, I don’t get it.”

Dean was grinding his teeth, so I put a smile on my face in an attempt to cheer him up, “But, hey, a shipping war! I’d bet money that the Sam/Dean ship wins.”

Luckily, it worked. He laughed, “These people are disgusting.”

Sam smiled, “I don’t know. I think the Sam/Audrey ship will take off super well.”

“Yeah, right!!” It was my turn to laugh, which was hard since we had to be quiet, “Sam, no one thinks we’d be good together.”

“Hey, you never know.”

I stretched casually, “I’m thinking Jo/Dean will be a strong contender though.”

Sam smirked at me, picking up on my motive, “Sam/Audrey v.s. Dean/Jo. Who will win?”

Dean scoffed, “That doesn’t even work. That’s two nerdy smart people v.s. two ‘shoot first ask questions later’ people.”

“So?”

“So! Opposites attract, right? We should switch it up.”

My cheeks began to burn at what he was implying, but luckily, I didn’t have to worry about responding. The mock hunt had begun. “Alright so…. what now?” I asked. We obviously didn’t need to join in on the hunt, so do we just sneak out?

“Dunno,” The boys responded at the same time, and another shriek came from behind us.

We turned to see Becky again, “Oh. My. Gosh. I love it when they talk at the same time!! #Winsync!!”

“Yeah, okay. We’re gonna go now,” Dean grabbed my arm and pulled me to the newly vacant seats, “I hate this.”

“Tell me about it. If I see one more-----”

“Hey, girl!” I looked up to see a short, rounder girl grinning at me. Her hair was in a perfectly curled ponytail, and she was wearing a pink sundress (almost identical to one I had.) “I love your costume. You look exactly how I pictured Audrey.”

Before I knew it, I was surrounded, “where did you get your bracelet? It looks so real!” A redheaded girl started fiddling with it and opened the locket with a gasp, “You’re so dedicated!!”

There were about four girls surrounding me now, each playing with my hair, outfit, or bracelet. I snuck a look at Dean who was laughing his head off. Of course he would leave me alone with them, he left Sam alone in Becky’s hands.

A small Asian girl pushed the others away, “We’re gathering up all the Audrey cosplayers…. we’re trying to beat the Dean and Sam cosplayers in honor of her character. She’d solve any case in a heartbreak.”

I grinned, “Sounds great! Let’s get to work,” I turned over my shoulder to salute Dean, “Go save your brother. I’ll be back before you know I’m gone.”

He rolled his eyes, and I followed the girls upstairs, “So, what’s the backstory to this place?”

The Asian girl laughed, “Oh, it isn’t a real hunt. We just have to find the ghost hiding in here. I’m Amy by the way.”

I smiled, “Nice to meet you!” I looked over this group of girls, each wearing different types of outfits I definitely had in my closet. I looked down at my own, a pink blouse and black skinny jeans. It was a bit more casual than what I was used to, but we thought we’d received a distress call from Chuck, so we left pretty quickly.

“My EMF isn’t picking anything up over here,” The blonde girl called over, holing up a little cardboard box. I thought of Dean’s Walkman EMF and smiled to myself. That boy is something special.

So were these girls. They were so creative, and they really knew their stuff. They’d been speculating about why I’d dropped out of college. I guess the books weren’t completely up to date. “So…uh…is Audrey in a lot of these books?”

The girls all swapped curious looks as if it was a silly question. “Oh, definitely,” Amy answered, “She’s been in the last fifteen at least. And even when she’s not around, one of the boys is always mentioning her if you know what I mean.”

The girls all giggled, but I sat there completely clueless. “Have we tried the basement? Maybe the ghost is hiding somewhere we’d least be expecting it.” The girls all murmured in agreement when my phone started ringing, “Excuse me.”

“Dean?”

“Audrey, you might want to get your fan club back here. We have an actual case.”

“What?!?”

“A Hookman LARPER was almost killed.”

“Hookman? Really?”

Dean clicked his tongue, “Really.”

“Okay, okay. Where’s Sam?”

“I’m fine, Audrey,” Sam yelled to the phone, “You should get back here as soon as you can.”

“Alright, I’m on my way, boys. Don’t get your pants in a twist.”

I turned back to the girls who were staring at me in shock, “We need to get back. Now.”

“What happened?” The blonde, Jackie, asked.

I sighed, “Someone’s been hurt.” The girls all followed me (I finally learned all of their names. Amy, Jackie, Lilly, and Tracie) whispering amongst themselves. When Dean saw me, he ran over and pulled me in by the arm to whisper, “it’s a real ghost. Sam and I got some of the backstory so ditch the girls. We’ve got work to do.”

I nodded, “Okay. Giv---”

Jackie squealed a little, “Oh my gosh! Couples LARPing??!! That’s so adorable.”

Dean’s confused pout made me laugh as he questioned her, “I’m sorry, what?”

Jackie just giggled, “C’mon. Everyone knows Dean/Audrey is practically canon.”

“And you have a really authentic Dean costume,” Lilly added, nodding in appreciation.

His pout turned into a scowl, “It’s not a costume.”

“Alright, Dean,” I placed a hand on his arm and squeezed him gently, “Tell Sam I’ll be there in a minute.”

He grumbled but left. “Wow. Your boyfriend takes this really seriously.”

I shrugged at Amy, “I’ll be back. It seems there’s an actual case here. Stay safe.”

I headed in the direction of the brothers, but I heard one of the girls asking if I was actually an undercover FBI agent. I shook my head; this is so messed up. I came up to the boys with an eye roll, “I swear if one more person asks about my relationship with Kaden I’m going to scream.”

Sam shrugged, “At least he wasn’t a demon…”

“Fair.”

Dean sat down at the bar, “Alright, guys. Let’s get our facts straight. The legend is that Leticia Gore---an orphanage caretaker---scalped four kids.”

I shivered, “Ew.”

“Right, so we need to—”

“Hey, Sweetheart,” A Dean cosplayer appeared, leaning on the counter to my left, “How about we get outta here, leave the research to Sammy?”

The hair on the back of my neck stood up, how am I getting out of this, “I’m sorry?”

The man smirked and fiddled with his beer bottle, “I mean, it would be nice to sneak in some alone time, right?”

It was when grabbed my inner thigh that I flipped, “Look, dude. I don’t know who yo---”

“C’mon, Audrey. Like you’d ever forget your boyfriend, Dean.”

I heard a cough from behind me as two arms wrapped around my waist and a chin rested on my head, “Sorry pal. I’m actually Dean Winchester and she’s actually mine. So, unless you want to see what sort of damage a real hunter can do, I suggest you get out of here.”

The guy looked panicked, apologized, and scurried off. Not even thirty seconds passed before people started looking at us like we were celebrities. I placed my hand on Dean’s (which was still planted firmly on my waist, by the way, and my heart was pounding in my chest. “Thanks, Dean. That guy was a creep.”

He shrugged and glared around the room before returning to his spot next to Sam, “Why are my mini-mes acting like that? I thought I was charming, not creepy.”

“They’re pretending to be us, Dean. These guys are the creepy ones,” Sam answered.

“Anyway,” Dean started, shaking his head, “We need to find where this lady was buried so that we can save the kid ghosts and our fans.”

I waved my phone, “Already got it.”

“Bobby! Rufus!! We found the supplies, let’s gank this S.O.B.”

“Bobby and Rufus?” I stared at the two boys who had just walked up to us without an introduction.

“Ah,” the new Dean cosplayer smiled at me, “Audrey, there you are. Enchante.” He pressed a kiss to my hand, and I sent a look at the brothers beside me.

“Audrey,” Sam cleared his throat, “Meet Damien and Barnes.” He pointed at each boy, respectively.

“Uh, Dean and Sam,” Damien corrected, glaring at Sam.

I shook my head, “Alright… well you guys go burn some bones. I’m going to go….do something else.”

Dean shot me a desperate look, but I just laughed until I turned the corner and ran into Amy. She looked at me like she was trying to figure me out, “Who are you?”

I laughed, “I’m just a big fan. My name’s Sarah. My boyfriend is Jake and his brother’s name is Paul.” I cringed at how fake the lie sounded but hoped she’d buy it.

“Cool. What do you do?”

I bit my lip and shrugged casually, “I’m actually about to become an RN. I guess that’s why I relate to Audrey so well. Now, let’s go find hat ghost before the boys win.”

She nodded, but still eyed me suspiciously. I gave her a smile as we headed back to the main room. I watched the boys leave and started a countdown on my watch, the graveyard was super close, so I’d give them thirty minutes. The girls were gathered in a circle, the ‘hunt’ had been put on hold for a while for local law enforcement to ensure nothing was really there. They were wrapping up now, but the girls were deep in conversation about their lives and what they loved about the books. “What about you, Sarah?”

I snapped out of my thoughts when I realized everyone was looking at me expectantly, “Right… that’s me. Erm, well I had a rough childhood. My parents passed away when I was young. I traveled the world with my friends and now I’m at school to become a nurse!” I hoped that I had changed my story enough to throw them off my trail, but seriously doubted that.

Tracie nodded with a smile, “And what’s your favorite part of the books?”

I cringed; I’d never read them. I didn’t know what details they contained about our lives. I decided to go at it with full confidence, “I loved the night that the brothers and Audrey sat on Bobby’s roof and ate pie. It just seems like a fun night where they just relaxed before everything fell apart with Lucifer.”

The girls exchanged looks and Amy cleared her throat. It was clear that she was about to voice her suspicions, so I racked my brain for a backup story, “Who are you really? Cause you don’t seem to know much about the books, so why are you here?”

I smiled at her, “Y’know it’s more of Jack’s thing, I just go along to make him happy.”

Her eyes narrowed, “You said your boyfriend’s name was Jake.”

Just then, Chuck announced that the Hunt was back on. I said a silent prayer. The universe had perfect timing, “I said Jake, it must be really loud in here.” I put on my best smile, “C’mon, girls. Let’s go beat the guys.”

Luckily, I somehow got away with it. I glanced down at my watch to see the boys still had a two-minute cushion. It is possible that the ghost could still be alive, but I seriously doubt that.

We headed up the stairs talking, “I don’t know, I think Dean should’ve said yes to Michael. I mean, it would have saved them a whole lot of trouble.”

“Right?!?! I wonder how they’re going to beat Lucifer in the next book.”

I grimaced; they were fully caught up. That means they had to know about Kaden and everything. I tried my luck, “So what do you guys think about Kaden?”

A mixed reaction came from the group. “He’s obviously just there to distract Audrey from Dean. It would be too boring if Dean and Audrey ended up together that quick,” Jackie said.

“I dunno,” Amy countered, “I think he’s sweet. He’s taken really good care of her throughout her life.”

Tracie shook her head adamantly, “I’m Team Dean all the way.”

I bit my lip. Am I in the middle of some kind of Twilight shipping war? But at least I got an answer to my question, Chuck left out the part with Kaden going evil. I walked into the library which felt freezing, “Is anyone else really cold?”

The girls murmured in agreement and I bit my lip. Yikes. I backed up until I found the iron bar by the fireplace, “Keep an eye out for the ghost.”

The girls looked excited as each of them took on a serious disposition and searched the room. I turned to look by the window when a scream rang out followed by a crash. I whipped around to see Tracie against a wall. Shoot. I guess the boys took longer than I thought. It had been well over thirty minutes by now.

But it wasn’t Leticia Gore. It was the three little boys.

Shoot.

I tossed the bar to Amy, “You need to hit them!!” She swung the bar a few times, successfully hitting one of the boys. I pulled out my gun and shot the two others, “Alright, girls. Does anyone have salt on them by chance?”

Amy tossed her clutch bag to me. Inside was a silver knife, a saltshaker, and a vial of red liquid, “Is that dead man’s blood?”

She shook her head, “It’s just corn syrup.”

I smiled to myself and made a salt line at the door of the library before pulling out my phone. My fingers had never flown faster, “Dean!! You burned the wrong bones!”

“What?”

“It wasn’t Leticia!! She must have been keeping them in check!”

“Wait, Audrey, what’s going on?”

I turned on my heel and rubbed my face, my eyes scanning the room for potential threats, “We went back upstairs for the mock hunt, and Tracie was attacked by three little boy ghosts.”

Dean said some very strong words, “mkay, get everyone back in the main room. We’re on our way.”

I groaned, “Fine.”

I turned to the girls who were all staring at me, “I knew it,” Amy explained, “I knew it, this isn’t pretend for you, is it? You’re really her!”

I was at a loss for words, I just gaped back at them, “I—I’m sorry, what?”

“You’re the real Audrey! It’s not made up, you’re real people. Chuck is really close to you, I noticed when you showed up. He knows who you are. And Becky was flipping out.”

“We don’t really have ti—”

“And you and Dean have that spark that’s obvious to everyone but the two of you. I heard you guys talking and planning about the case. That’s why you don’t know anything about the books, you lived them!!”

I sighed, “Yes, yeah. I’m Audrey Williams. Those boys are actually Dean and Sam Winchester. And we were tricked into coming here by Becky pretending to be our friend Chuck who is actually a prophet.”

It was silent for a moment before the girls started screaming in excitement. I was seriously so shocked. I can not believe this is happening. They started firing questions at me rapid-fire until I sighed, “Alright. I promise I will answer all the questions you guys want once the ghosts are gone. But right now, I need your help.”

I called Chuck and briefly explained the situation, asking him to announce a winner and move on to the Q&A so that everyone would be in one place. The girls helped get everyone excited for it and soon enough everyone was gathered in the auditorium again. I leaned back against the wall with a sigh as Chuck started the session. “Hey, good work.” I rolled my eyes at Dean who just randomly showed up.

I sighed, “This has been the weirdest day ever. Seriously.”

“Tell me about it,” Sam mumbled, “Our fans have been following us all day while treating us like Bobby and Rufus the entire time.”

“Well, my fan club was watching us all day and they figured out that we’re the real deal,” I gestured to the girls who were staring at us with their mouths open wide, “Okay, but seriously. Leticia was just keeping the boys’ spirits in line. Now that she’s gone, they’re wreaking havoc.”

The boys nodded, “We’re never right the first time, are we?” Dean asked which made me laugh.

“Okay,” Sam nodded, “Okay, so they’re scared of Leticia Gore. Let’s make them think she never died.”

“Huh?” Dean and I chorused.

Five minutes later, a plan was made. The boys had sent their LARPing friends to the graves of the kids. While we were waiting on them, Dean and Sam would take the Leticia Gore actress upstairs to scare the boys away, and I would be standing guard down here. After the boys left, I pulled a chair up to the door and listened to the questions.

“So why was Ruby pretending to like Sam? Wouldn’t he have ended up making the same choices regardless?” The question came from a Sam cosplayer. I grimaced to myself. Poor Sam.

Chuck shook his head slightly, “Sam was the moral compass before he met Ruby. He never would’ve believed in using his powers if he didn’t have someone to coax him off the straight and narrow.”

That seemed to do the trick. Another girl rose her hand and stood, “Is Dean’s deal what got Audrey back into hunting?”

Chuck looked at me, “It’s part of it.” I thought it was odd that he had an answer. I didn’t know how I ended up here. “She loved the time she spent hunting with Dean, Kaden, and Eli. She loves making the world a better place---that’s why she was on track to become a Doctor. But when Kaden dragged her back in, she found herself again. She’s at home in the hunting world.”

My heart burned; he was right. I didn’t think he could be, but he was right. I found a home. “But whatever happened to Kaden? You just stopped writing about him.”

Chuck’s eyes flickered to me once more, “What happened with Kaden is a very dark tale. He made some bad decisions and he ended up paying the price. I might write about it in a novella sometime in the future. It’s still a little fresh though.”

His answer seemed to start something amongst the fans. A girl stood up, “Mr. Edlund? You often talk about these characters as if they’re real. Are they?”

As if on cue, Dean and Sam bolted in the room and made a salt line just in time to trap the ghost boys outside the meeting room. I gaped at them and Dean shrugged nonchalantly. “Guys! What the heck?”

“They came for the crowds, we had to beat them here.”

“I thought you said Damian was taking care of it!!”

“He is!! There are two of them working on it!”

“Well, maybe you should’ve gone with them, Dean!”

“Guys---”

“It’s fine. We’re all here. We’re all safe, aren’t we?”

“Guys—”

“What, Sam?” Dean and I yelled together.

Sam gestured behind him and we turned to find the crowd staring at us. Chuck cleared his throat, “I guess you could say I was inspired by real people, yes.”

The room broke out in chatter, I could barely hear myself think over the noise. “Uhm so I think they have all caught on by now,” Sam whispered.

A girl literally passed out and I grimaced, “Some found out a while ago.”

Dean chuckled, “C’mon, guys. It’s not like it was a secret. We aren’t Hannah Montana.”

That made me laugh until the lights started flickering. I grabbed my gun and the three of us began a face-off with the ghosts. I shot at one that was about to mess up the salt line and he disappeared, “Seriously. You’d think they would have gotten at least one of them by now.”

Dean shot a few more times, trying to keep the ghosts at bay, “Look out!!” I heard Amy yell from behind me.

The ghosts found another way in and were now going for San’s head. I tackled him to the ground and shot the ghost on the way down. Sam looked shocked, “Nice reflexes!!”

I shrugged, “Practice.”

We got up and the three of us made a silent game plan. I ran to the crowds, dumping salt all over the place to keep them safe while Sam and Dean fought off the ghosts. “Okay, I know this is crazy and probably seems fake, but we seriously need you to stay behind this line, okay?”

This is ridiculous. We’re protecting hundreds of grown adults from three kids ghosts. Finally, a whoop rang through the room. “One down, two to go,” Dean shouted across the room.

Sweet.

Then some guy decided he was above us all, “It’s just projections to make us feel like these guys are real.” He walked out of the circle and was immediately thrown to the wall by the second ghost. I grimaced, idiots.

I ran over to help the man up and he was looking at me like I was some celebrity. “Are you hurt?”

He shook his head, “Y-you’re y-you—”

I just nodded and helped him up, looking back in time to see the second ghost go up in flames. What did they do? Dig up all three graves first? Gosh.

The crowd behind me got louder than before when Dean and Sam came over to join us. Apparently, all three ghosts were now gone. Sam cleared his throat, “We’re very sorry for interrupting your convention. We will be going now.”

Chuck made his way through the crowd, “Can’t you guys stay for just a little longer? You would make the experience so much better for them.”

Dean rocked on his feet, “What, you want us to be their dancing monkeys?”

Chuck shrugged and nodded slightly, forcing a fit of laughter out of me. Sam tried one more time to get us out of it, “They won’t believe us.”

But when we turned back, everyone was looking at us like we were stars, “I think they might. Guess we’d better stay for the night, boys.”


	20. Imposter Imperceptible

The next few minutes passed in a blur. Before we knew it, we were on the small stage facing the people we had just saved. They had half an hour to ask us questions before moving on to the ‘Shipping Panel’. Chuck had given us water bottles which was nice, but this all just felt way bigger than what we’d signed up for. It’s not like we’re celebrities or something…

We started the session with a guy waving his hand around, ‘My question’s for Dean.” I could feel Dean’s excitement beside me. I knew he’d love this; he had such a childhood love for life, and it was adorable, “What’s it like being practically immortal?”

I laughed and Dean shrugged, “It kind of sucks sometimes cause life never friggen ends. But I’m glad I have more chances cause there’s so much left I want to do. Maybe I’ll finally be able to rest once the world is finally a safe place.”

The crowd laughed and the guy grinned, “You’re my hero, man.”

Uh-oh. “Way to inflate his ego, guys.” Everyone laughed again and Dean stuck his tongue out at me.

A timid girl walked up to the stand, “Audrey can you share a little about your parents?”

I tensed up and Dean frowned, “Hey, let’s not get too personal guys.”

“No, it’s fine, Dean,” I smiled at the girl as my chest filled with emotion, “I don’t remember much because they both died when I was very young. I have really fond memories of my dad; he’d take me fishing sometimes and he taught me that it was better to wait long rather than act in the wrong. I learned to seriously think before acting and try to make the best of things. There’s not a day that goes by that I don’t miss him.”

The girl nodded, “Thank you.”

The next girl walked up while twirling her hair, “I guess we’d better loop Sam in,” Everyone laughed, including me and Dean, “Are you planning on going back to Stanford ever?”

Sam looked over at us then back to the group, “Like my brother said… I don’t think hunters are allowed to rest until the world is safe.” He let out a nervous laugh, “I would love to go back to Stanford and my friends there, but I just don’t think that’s going to happen. And…. And that’s okay. I have my family here. I’m happy.”

The girl thanked him and sat down when a guy came up smirking, “So, Audrey. The real question everyone is wondering about is what’s going on with you and Castiel?”

Maybe I wasn’t expecting the question, or maybe he hit a sensitive spot… either way my cheeks were on fire. My heart was racing faster than my thoughts, “I---uh—erm…heh.” I was trying to pull myself together, especially since everyone was laughing and aweing in the crowd, “N-n-nothing is going on with me and Cas.” I cleared my throat, “I obviously admire the guy for everything he does, but he’s an angel so…yeah. That’s his job. And we’re close friends, that’s it.”

His smirk just grew, “Mhmmmmmmmm.”

The fact of the matter is, I didn’t know. I couldn’t explain what happened to my feelings when Cas was around. I thought he was charming and incredibly sweet; I love his sense of humor and absolutely adore his heart of gold. He’s not bad looking either. But I shook my head, “Nothing is going on between me and Cas. End of story.”

Noise exploded from the crowd at my response, so I chugged my water bottle to calm my nerves. They went on asking us questions until Chuck finally said we could go. So, we said goodnight and pretended to leave, but really, we just hid because Dean and I were dying of curiosity about this ‘shipping panel’.

I crawled behind a plant and Dean hid underneath a table. “You two are absolutely ridiculous,” Sam whispered.

“Hey, we’re just curious,” Dean rose his hands in defense.

“No, yeah, me too. But they won’t be able to see us here. We could just stand here all night,” Sam leaned against the door frame, laughing softly.

I rolled my eyes, “Okay, Mr. Kill Joy. Just know we are having way more fun than you.”

“Alright, so I know everyone’s excited. Especially now that you’ve actually met the people behind the story, but let’s try to be respectful of everyone’s opinions.” It was weird to see Chuck leading a shipping war, but I just shrugged it off, “Who would like to start us off?”

Someone from the crowd yelled, “You!”

“Hey, hey. I’m just an impartial judge. I obviously know these ‘characters’ fairly well. But I won’t say what I feel just yet.”

Everyone booed until Becky stood up, “Okay so obviously I’m totally in love with Sam. But if he couldn’t have me then I only want him with Jess.”

Even though the audience cheered in agreement, my heart grew heavy in my chest. Sam had been through a lot, but losing Jess was at the top of his list. He was going to propose to her too. I put a hand on his knee (from behind the plant) and he gave me a soft smile.

“I don’t know, I think Audrey and Sam would be so cute together,” A round of cheers followed this new fan’s opinion, “I mean, Study Buddies?!? Totally adorable.”

“I agree. She totally brings out the best in Sam.”

“Ugh! Yes!! She’s the only one who can get Sam to let go and be happy.”

I exchanged looks with the brothers; we were all laughing softly. I wasn’t sure what we expected, but it was hilarious. I’m the only girl in the group, so we can’t expect anything different. A few other ships were tossed around: Dean/Sam (Chuck stopped that one immediately), Jo/Sam, Ruby/Sam, me/Kaden, Cas/Dean (Dean’s face was priceless when that was brought up), and then I was brought up again.

A blonde-haired girl took the microphone, “Okay, why hasn’t anyone talked about this yet? Audrey and Cas?! They would be totes adorable; did you see her face when she talked about him?!? Argh;aae so cute!!” There was some noise in agreement which made my face burn again.

But then someone countered, “Actually, Audrey was hunting with us earlier and you should have seen the way she was with Dean,” It was Tracie. I mentally face palmed as she continued, “The way they interacted and talked to each other…. We literally thought they were a couple.”

“Yeah, well Castiel isn’t here so you have nothing to compare it to.”

“Okay, well based on the books alone Dean stayed with her 24/7 when she was cursed. He went to the ends of the earth to save her.” My cheeks warmed up even more, so I stared at the ground to avoid Dean’s gaze. It’s different when they talk about the actual stuff we’ve done.

“Well, Castiel killed two angels with his bare hands to save her and rebelled against heaven because he, quote: ‘fell in love’. That can only mean one thing, c’mon guys!”

Tracie was standing now, clapping along to her words, “No way! Cas is a pansy. Audrey deserves someone who will fight for her. Someone who loves her for exactly who she is. Someone who wouldn’t rest until she’s happy.”

The other girl stood to match Tracie, “Why do you think she’d find that from Dean? He’s just looking for a fun time when it comes to girls. Cas would treat her right!!”

Now it was getting weird, and deeply personal. I turned to the guys, “Maybe we should go, they’re grossly misinterpreting things.”

I jumped when a loud slap came from across the room. A guy was standing now and had slammed his hands on the table, “You guys clearly don’t know Dean at all. He hides his feelings well, sure. But he’s a romantic at heart. There is nothing he wouldn’t do for Audrey.”

I had to fight a smile. Finally, someone interrupted with the idea of Meg/Cas and that ended the heated debate. “Yeah, I think I’ve seen enough,” Sam added, “Let’s bounce.”

Dean stayed silent as we walked out. “Do we have to stay the night? We’ll see them all tomorrow after this,” I gestured back to the room, “has happened.”

Sam chuckled, “It’ll be fine. We’ll say bye to Chuck then sneak out.”

I nodded, seeing Dean’s moody face suddenly made me very tired so I headed to bed and fell asleep in seconds.

The next day, we followed Sam’s idea to sneak out, and on the way, Becky told Sam that The Colt had been traded off to some demon named Crowley. We were overjoyed and began making a plan to find the gun when Ellen called asking for back up with a case. So, we changed directions and headed straight there.

“Alright, so what do you know about this S.O.B?”

Ellen had just fed us dinner, but Dean was jumping straight into business as usual. Jo grinned and unfurled a map on the table, “I like the way you think, Dean. So, there have been two deaths; both fathers of famous basketball players from the high school.”

“And y’all have no idea what we’re dealing with?” Dean asked.

She shook her head and looked up at him expectantly. I had to hold in a scoff, she was practically falling all over him. “So, have you checked out the school?” I asked.

Jo frowned, but Ellen was the one who answered me, “We haven’t. The idea hadn’t occurred to us.”

Sam nodded, “Probably cause you’re too close to the case. If both boys are on the basketball team, there’s a strong connection. When’s the next game?”

“Tomorrow.”

“Let’s go and see what we can find out,” Dean decided, looking back at Jo who beamed at him.

I followed Ellen to the back to help with the dishes. When we came back, Jo was playing a song on the jukebox. She walked over to Dean, standing so close to him that their noses were practically touching. I bit the inside of my cheek; this is so weird. Ellen shook her head slightly, “I don’t get that girl.”

“What? Why not?” I tried to laugh it off, but I was glad she said something.

“I don’t know. She’s so in love with Dean when he’s clearly not interested.”

“I dunno, Ellen. He seems pretty interested to me.” I smirked at her as Dean grinned down at Jo. I saw that smile thousands of times. Every time he picked up a girl he’d start with that smile, then he’d tilt the girl’s chin up a little, play with her hair, wink, smirk, and they’d leave together. Every single time.

Jo slid her hands into her back pockets, puffing out her chest. She was looking up at him like he was her air supply. Ellen shrugged, “I dunno, Sweetie. I don’t think Dean’s one for long-term investments.”

“You got me there.” It sucked, but Ellen is right. It wasn’t in Dean’s nature to settle down. He’d never had any real feelings for anyone.

I caught Sam’s eye from across the room and excused myself from Ellen to join him, “What’s up?”

“So, get this, I was looking into the history of the school and its staff. The basketball coach just started a month ago,” He pointed to the teacher’s biography.

“Same day as the first murder,” I noticed, “But why would he give himself away so quickly? Wouldn’t he want to settle in first?”

Sam shrugged, “I’m not sure. But we should definitely keep an eye on him.”

“Anyone else interesting?”

“Well, this isn’t the first time that murders have happened to students’ parents. But the others seem unrelated. The first one being thirty years ago.”

I filed that away in my brain, “Nice work, Sammy. It should be an easy one once we figure out what we’re dealing with.”

He nodded, “Yeah, but we might be alone in this one,” He gestured toward Dean and Jo who were flirting up a storm.

I shrugged, “We can take this, no problem.”

“That doesn’t bother you?”

“What?”

“Dean and Jo?”

I gave him a look, “I don’t see why it would.”

His lips twitched but he nodded, “That’s fair. How’s Cas, by the way? Any word on this Crowley guy?”

“He thinks he’s close. He has a trail, but nothing is confirmed yet. You know how demons can be. I’m actually thinking about summoning him myself.”

It was Sam’s turn to give me a look, “What? You’re not serious, are you?”

I shrugged, “Just an idea. But I wouldn’t do it alone, I’d make sure Cas was with me.”

Sam grinned, “So you and Cas—”

I kicked him in the shin, “Ha ha. It’s just as likely for the two of us to get together.” He fake hurled and I laughed, “Well, I’m off to bed. We’ve got work to do tomorrow.”

It was an interesting experience going back to high school. I hadn’t been in years. We had gone all out in our ‘disguises’. I was decked out in leggings and a Leopard’s T-shirt. I had opted for a high ponytail and orange and black war paint. I was seriously going all in. Dean had gone straight to the bathroom, so I found a spot in the crowd. It was a small town, but an insane turnout. It seemed like everyone and their dog were here. This is going to be fun….

Dean and I were sent to keep an eye on the coach, Sam and Jo were scooping out the school. We had looked at the bodies earlier, but we didn’t find anything unusual which made us believe this might not be our kind of thing after all.

Finally, Dean came back. I untied his bandana to piss him off and whispered, “The coach isn’t even in here.”

He gave me a confused look, so I pulled up the picture of the coach to show him, “He’s not here.”

He grunted and tied his bandana back on, “What kind of basketball team plays without their coach?”

“Didn’t you guys hear?” The voice belonged to an older woman seated to my left, “Coach Smith was murdered last night.”

Well, that doesn’t make any sense, “Wait, that’s horrible! Why is the game still happening?”

She gave me a look like I was dumb, “To honor his memory, of course.”

Dean and I exchanged looks before he leaned over, “But he just started here at the school.”

She waved her hand at us, “The boy was raised here. He played basketball all throughout high school and dreamed of the time he’d make it back to the court.” Then she leaned back and really looked at us, “But everyone knows that…...”

I flashed her a smile, “We’re just family of Cody Wells. We came to see him play.”

“Oh, I love Cody!! What a treasure.” I allowed myself to exhale a bit, thankful that I studied the team’s bios before this.

Dean grabbed my arm, “Excuse us, ma’am.”

I followed him into the hallway knowing exactly what he was going to say. “This isn’t our kind of case, clearly this is just some regular guy who snapped.”

“I mean, it makes sense. We have no idea what this would be, the kills have all been void of the supernatural.” It still felt weird. Ellen knows what she’s doing, she wouldn’t call us in for something dumb.

Dean nodded, “Alright. So I say we round up the team and head home. We’ve gotta find this demon guy anyway.”

I nodded and pulled out my cellphone but before I could do anything Dean grabbed my arm, “I just,” he cleared his throat, “I just have something to talk to you about real quick.”

That’s never fun to hear, “Yeah, sure. What’s up?”

Then he bit his lip, “I was waiting for the right time to do this, but it seems like this may be our only time alone.”

And then he kissed me.

Dean Winchester was kissing me.

And I have to say, even though everyone constantly said we were in love with each other, I didn’t see it. And I certainly didn’t feel it in the kiss. I put a gentle hand on his chest, “We’ll talk about this later. Let’s regroup.”

He looked surprised as I turned away to call his brother. But he didn’t answer. I tried a few more times before trying Jo’s phone, but no one would answer, “Dean…. maybe they’re in trouble.”

He nodded, “Maybe.”

Something was seriously not right. Finally, I called Ellen who did answer. “How’s it going?”

“Just a question, have you heard from Sam or Jo?!”

“No, the last time I saw them was at the school. Why?”

I groaned, “Alright. Dean and I are going to look for them. Neither one has answered their phones, maybe this is a case after all.”

Ellen said some colorful words before agreeing, “Alright. And I’ll try calling them too.”

I hung up and we searched all of the classrooms, but they were all empty. I groaned again, “Come on!! Where could they be?!”

“Well,” Dean started, “Maybe they’re heading back home, and we have a little time to ourselves.”

I gave him a dirty look. I did not like being on this side of his flirting antics. But luckily, something about them made something click in my mind, “Of course!! Whoever this is wouldn’t risk being caught up here.” I ran as fast as I could to the boiler room and found a trap door to the basement, “Sweet!”

“Dang, Sweetheart. You’re really not just a pretty face.”

“Shut up.”

We headed down the ladder with flashlights in hand. This is the one thing about our job that I’ll never get over. I could literally get attacked from any direction, “Where could they be?” I called Sam’s phone once more and heard his ringtone in the back corner. Bingo. I ran to the room, flipping on the light switch to reveal Sam and a passed-out Jo tied to giant beams. “Sam?! What happened?”

Before he could answer, Dean came from around the corner, rubbing his head.

Wait a second.

I turned to look behind me at a bewildered Dean. Then I looked back at new Dean who also looked shocked, “Alright, so we’ve obviously got a problem here.”

Sam looked as consumed as the rest of us, “So, it’s a shifter? What is your motivation? Why go for basketball parents?”

New Dean looked super confused, “I’m not a shifter, Sammy. I got knocked out by the bathroom and woke up here.”

I squinted at him, “Why wouldn’t you be tied up like them?”

Honestly, I was super stressed. We were facing a Shifter and I had no silver. New Dean shrugged, “I don’t know. Look, Audrey, you know me better than anyone.”

That’s when Dean spoke up from behind me, “Well he has a point. You know me, Sweetheart. You know I’d never wear that.”

It was a fair argument; New Dean was dressed like a teacher. “Well, if one of you is the real Dean then you wouldn’t mind me untying Sam and Jo?”

Both of them shook their heads and I looked to Sam for help. Useless boy just shrugged. I mouthed ‘silver?’ and he shook his head. Great.

Plan B then.

I leaned over as if to untie Sam, but I pulled out my gun and shot Dean. The one that kissed me earlier. Then I very quickly untied Sam as the chaos ensued. Shot Dean tackled New Dean confirming my suspicions. If I had shot the real Dean, he would’ve been dead by now. I carefully untied Jo as the boys battled it out with the shifter. I did a careful glance around the room before spotting the weapon bag hidden in a corner. Sweet.

I ran to the bag as Sam was thrown against the wall and Real Dean was being held down in a chokehold. “C’mon. C’mon silver knife. Where are you?” I sifted through the various weapons until finally! Silver knife.

I tossed it to Sam who came up behind Shifter Dean and killed him before Real Dean passed out. “Awesome,” he breathed, getting up to his feet as Jo was waking up. “Although, I don’t love your choice to shoot me.”

“Yeah, how did you know it was the shifter? That was a huge risk,” Sam was looking at me like I was crazy.

“Well,” I helped Jo to her feet, “Shifter Dean grabbed my arm and was burned by the silver. I knew the whole time, but I didn’t have the weapon to end it.”

“Wow,” It was clear that Sam didn’t buy my story from how he was looking at me, but Dean was impressed.

“That’s awesome, great work!”

“But it still doesn’t make any sense. What was the shifter’s motive?” Sam asked again and I just shrugged. I had a pretty good guess, but I wasn’t about to share my story with everyone.

“Does it really matter? We’re safe,” Jo grabbed the weapon bag and started for the door, “The guy’s dead, whoever he was. I say we call it a victory and head home.”

“Amen to that,” Dean hurried after her and Sam gave me a look.

“Promise I’ll tell you later,” I guess it was the right thing to say cause he grabbed shifter Dean’s body and headed upstairs.

Hopefully no one was around cause that would be a tough one to explain. Two hours later Dean was passed out and Sam sat on the table across from his brother, looking at me expectantly. I looked back at Dean to make sure he was asleep then took a seat by Sam, pulling my legs to my chest. I pulled out my hunter journal—I’d started one after seeing how useful John’s was to the boys—and pulled out some newspaper clippings. “Okay, so I think the shifter was sleeping with wives and then murdering them, their husbands, or both afterward.”

Sam cleared his throat, “That’s uhmmm that’s a bold claim.”

“Exactly, and here’s my thought process. All the survivors had that smile when we asked about the last time they saw their spouse, but mentioned they left abruptly and were never seen again, right?”

He nodded, “True.”

I sighed, “And I never did the silver test on Dean. I just kind of…knew something was off. Real Dean went to the bathroom and I assume that’s where he was mugged by the shifter. The second he got back he wanted to leave the game. Once we made it to the hallway, he kissed me and tried---”

Sam’s mouth twitched, “Shifter Dean kissed you?” I nodded and he chuckled a bit, “Did you like it?”

“Sam!!”

“Just wondering. For future reference.”

“No, Sam. I did not like kissing him. But I guess now we know why…. Gross fake person kiss,” I shivered, and he laughed again, “Anyway, he kept trying to make a move even when I found out you two were missing. So, when I saw Dean in the teacher’s clothes looking like he’d been knocked out, I put two and two together. You said the first of the murders happened about forty years ago?” He nodded. “The only teacher working that long was Mr. Redd. And when I looked him up, he still looked in his mid-twenties still and he was still single. And, get this, he was just put in as Assistant Coach when the new guy started.”

Sam sat back impressed, “Nice work, genius.”

“I mean, I got to see all of the puzzle pieces, so it wasn’t much work for me.”

He folded his arms with a grin, “You know, shifters download memories and emotions from the people they become? So, shifter Dean coming after you definitely means that real Dean has feelings for you, even if it’s just subconsciously.”

I glared at him, “No, it means I was the girl that Dean was with at the time.”

He shrugged, “Say what you will, I know the truth.”

“What a weird case though, really.” I was finishing my journal entry about it, “We had no idea what was going on. What ever happened to you guys?”

“Oh yeah, we passed by the bathroom, talked to Dean for a bit, and then we were taken down as we walked away. So, I guess he’d already changed by that point.”

I stuck my tongue out, “Gross. For the record, shifters are now Public Enemy Number One. I hate them.”

He laughed, “C’mon! You just got your first kiss in like, what, fifteen years?”

I elbowed him, “You suck. It totally doesn’t count.”

Unfortunately, we had woken Dean up and he stared at me groggily, “You got kissed? Who kissed you?”

I glared at Sam who just laughed harder and I cursed myself for hunting with two idiots.


	21. A Night Like This

The shifter case was wrapped up so quickly that we decided not to head out just yet. Sam and I were eating breakfast in the roadhouse and I kept thinking about what Sam and Audrey were talking about a few nights ago. It was weird that she didn’t want me knowing the shifter had kissed her. It was weird that Sam was trying to hint at something between her and me. But weirdest of all, they didn’t mention anything to me. “Where’s Audrey?”

Sam shrugged, “I actually haven’t seen her in a long time. She’s probably fixing up her journal a bit more. Why?”

I held up a newspaper clipping, “Mr. Redd disappeared on the night of the basketball game. I think Audrey was right; it was the Assistant Coach.”

“Dang, that girl is--- wait, she didn’t tell you about---” He facepalmed, “You were awake the whole time.”

I just smirked, “I’m not as dumb as you think I am, Sammy. Especially when it comes to the two of you. Y’all are like my two favorite books.”

He rolled his eyes, “Well, in that case…. Audrey’s not here.”

“So where is she?”

His phone lit up looked impressed as he read it, “They found Crowley.”

“Huh?”

“Audrey and Cas. They were looking for Crowley and they found him.”

“Well let’s get in on the action.”

He was already cleaning up his breakfast, “They’re already waiting for us. Let’s update Ellen.”

We were already packed so we grabbed our stuff and told Ellen the plan---we’d regroup at Bobby’s after we had the Colt. We finished without a moment to spare; Cas was standing in the lobby waiting for us. We each grabbed onto one of his arms and were instantly teleported to a large field. “Alright, Cas, what’s the plan?”

“The plan,” Audrey answered, slinging a gun over her arm, “is the three of us go in and ice some demons.”

I hadn’t even noticed she was here, and I was feeling like an eight-year-old boy staring at the cutest girl in school. I felt like I was missing out since I had, in a way, kissed her. But I was not at all any part of it. It made my palms sweat a little bit. I cleared my throat, “What about Cas?”

Feathers shook his head, “The warding is pretty strong against angels. I wouldn’t have even found this place without Audrey.”

They smiled at each other and she cooed back praising him for his work on the team and it was grossing me out. Sam looked over at the building, “How many demons do you think are waiting for us in there?”

They both shrugged and I flung the weapons bag over my arm, “Nothing we can’t handle. Let’s go.” And we ditched Cas, hoping he would be able to keep any extra demons at bay. He is our most powerful weapon by far, so heading into an evil lair without him was absolutely horrible. Audrey led us into the building with no problem at all.

Once we got in deeper, though, we were attacked on all sides. I grunted and swung at one to my left while tripping the one on my right. I was able to stab the one on the left with the angel blade, successfully killing it. But the other one jumped on my back and proceeded to wrestle me.

I hate demons.

I struggled to regain my balance and looked for a wall to get to. Before I could take a step, a shot rang through the building, and everything froze in an odd movie moment. The demon on my back fell to the ground dead, revealing a man holding a gun. He continued, killing each demon until we were alone in the hallway, “Hello, boys. You’re right on time,” he tugged the sleeve of his suit jacket for extra flair and I rolled my eyes; great. A Brit. My favorite.

“B-but you’re Crowley. Why shoot your minions?” Audrey looked perplexed; she had a blood splatter on her neck that was honestly driving me crazy.

Crowley just smiled, taking a seat at his desk, and kicking his feet up, “I am a businessman, darling. We’re in this together.”

“But why?!” Sam asked.

“Very simple. Self-preservation. Lucifer wants to take over the world. That means no one is safe. After he gets his way with the apocalypse, he will kill all of us as well. He never liked us anyway; seeing how he is an angel, after all.” Crowley grabbed a box out of his drawer, “Let’s take him down.”

“What’s in it for you?” I was still unsure of this. Working with demons is never a good idea.

Crowley’s lip curled, “I assure you I have no ulterior motive. We’re on the same team, boys. I want him dead.”

And just like that, he handed me the Colt. We had been working for years to find this and it was just……. Being handed over. Something didn’t feel right about any of this. “Thank you, Crowley. Seriously. Do you happen to have any leads on where Lucifer might be?”

He smiled at Audrey, “You’re bright. You’ll catch on quickly.”

And he disappeared. “W-what?! Did he just---”

“Yup. We have The Colt,” I cut Sam off, “Let’s go ice the Devil.”

The weight of what we were about to do hadn’t quite sunken in until we got to Bobby’s and felt the incredibly somber feeling in the air, “We got the Colt,” I announced, placing it on the table.

Bobby nodded, “Well, once we find him, we can head out and take him down.” I could tell he was trying to be optimistic but being in the wheelchair had really brought out his darker side.

“Can’t you track him, Cas?”

He shook his head, “I’m afraid not. Archangels are a different story. We’ll have to find him the old-fashioned way.”

Disappointed, we all moved to our respective areas to look for Lucifer, and let me just spare you the details…. It was boring. After a few minutes of scrolling through uneventful websites, I walked over to Audrey who was running a hand through her hair, “How’s the work going, Sherlock?”

“This is ridiculous. He’s literally the devil. How hard can it be to track down the devil?”

“Maybe you’re doing too much thinking,” I tapped her forehead, “You think he’s hiding but maybe he wants to be found.” I pulled up a chair next to her and sat down watching the screen over her shoulder.

Her brow furrowed and she let out a small hum before hitting the back button on her browser a couple of times, scrolling down as far as she could go, then clicking on an article about strange wind patterns in Missouri. A webpage loaded from the city of Carthage and it was blowing up with news storied about storms, wings, tsunamis, and even dead crops and herds. “Though it was just a couple of far-fetched events, but….” She clicked on an image of the town and zoomed in on a building. There he was, winking at the camera, “He’s waiting for us.”

“You’ve done it again, genius.”

She scoffed, “Whatever. You’re the one who reminded me that the devil would want to be found.”

“And you remembered a random article out of the hundreds you’d read. How do you even do that?”

She shrugged, “Med school. C’mon, we gotta let everyone know.”

I could’ve stayed next to her forever, but we told them. Bobby seemed concerned about our quest and requested a picture in case it was our ‘last day on earth’. So, we all gathered around in the living room. Bobby, Ellen, and Cas were toward the back. Sam stood on the far left with Jo to his right followed by Audrey and then me, “C’mon, man this is so cheesy.”

“Just smile, boy. This could be the way we go out.”

I didn’t feel like that was the case, but I plastered on a small smile regardless. When Bobby was counting down for the photo, I snuck my arm around Audrey’s waist. She was clearly trying her best to play it cool cause she started taking deeper breaths. Right when the picture was about to be taken, I tickled her side causing her to squirm like crazy. Hearing her laugh was reward enough.

Her laugh set off a chain reaction until we were all laughing for the next picture. She slapped my hand away, but I just chuckled. Messing with her is far too easy. We tried taking another picture, but Cas asked what about cheese makes everyone so happy, and we all lost it again.

Ellen passed out some beer bottles and made a toast to saving the idiots of the world. I gladly drank to that and followed Jo into the kitchen, “Do you really think we’re gonna die tomorrow?”

I shrugged and took a swig of my drink, “Maybe, but would you want to go out any other way?” She shook her head and I glanced over to Audrey who was teasing Sam for the way he looked in the picture. “At least we go out together,” I said with a smile.

“Well, if this is my last day on earth then I think I’m due for a Dean Winchester kiss, don’t you?”

That got my attention. I looked back at her, confused, “What?”

“I’m serious.”

“I mean, I could kiss you, no problem. But…. Jo, you know it wouldn’t mean anything.”

Laughter from across the room pulled my attention back to Audrey. This time she was teaching Cas a dance. He looked completely ridiculous as he stumbled over his feet, but she was laughing and dancing with Sam…. It was adorable. Bobby and Ellen were drinking in the corner, watching them with bittersweet smiles.

A sigh came from next to me, “Look, Dean. I know you’ve been in love with Audrey since you met her, but you could at least pretend to care about me for once.”

“What—Jo, I’m not---”

“Don’t even try to deny it, Dean. You’ve got that dopey love grin plastered on your face.”

“It’s not like that,” I looked down at my friend that I had grown quite fond of. She was a firecracker for sure, it was quite a handful to teach her about hunting, but she’d grown into a professional. She’s almost how I imagined a pain-in-the-butt younger sister.

She gave me a smile, “It kind of is, though. Sam told me forever ago that you see me as a sister. And she’s beautiful. You two are adorable.”

“Jo—”

“Let’s go fight our last fight, huh?” She held up her bottle. With an uncomfortable smile, I brought mine to meet hers before drinking again.

Girls are so annoying.

I assumed the conversation was over since she immediately headed over to her mom. So I went to join the dancing fun, “Alright, this needs to stop.”

Cas looked me dead in the eyes, “It’s called the running man. Which doesn’t make sense because you don’t actually travel when you do it.”

It was Sam’s laugh that got me to let my guard down, I hadn’t seen him happy in so long, “Alright, Cas. Show me your running man.”

He put his arms in front of him and jerked in a way that looked more like a seizure than the running man. Sam doubled over in laughter and Audrey cheered for Cas. The atmosphere made me smile…. It felt kind of ridiculous like we were playing a game of pretend. We were pretending to be normal. But I loved it.

Maybe if we can ice the devil….. “Hellooooooo?”

Audrey was waving her hand right in front of my face, effectively pulling me back to reality. “Hey,” I smirked.

“It’s your turn, cool guy.” I grinned in response and grabbed her hand, earning a baffled look from her, “Hey, I’ve already danced enough, cheater.”

“I don’t dance alone, Sweetheart,” I twirled her around and brought her to my chest, swaying with the music. Suddenly we were back in the music hall all those years ago.

She looked up at me with a shy smile, “I hate you.”

I winked, “The feeling is mutual.”

We danced for a good while before Sam cut in. After another few minutes, she ended up with Cas again, teaching him how to slow dance. It was adorable to watch. Sam twirled Jo around for a while, but she refused to even look in my direction. By the end of the night, Cas wasn’t doing too bad. He seemed to have finally gained a sense of rhythm.

“Alright, alright. Party’s over. We’ve got work to do,” Bobby hustled us all to our rooms. Even though I wasn’t sure what to believe anymore, I said a quick prayer that things would work out tomorrow.


	22. With Every Heartbeat

AUDREY

Cas was staring dumbfounded at the city before us. Not that I was surprised; seeing such an abandoned place was horrible. All I could do was hope that everyone got out safely. “Something’s wrong.”

I looked back to him again to see him staring curiously at the air, almost as if he were watching a specific person. “What is it?” I squinted as hard as I could in that direction, but I did not see anything.

He turned back to the group, pale, “There are hundreds of reapers. They are scattered around staring—” he turned and pointed towards a building, “There.”

“So, what? Are they all gonna take on Lucifer?” Dean asked.

Cas shook his head, “No. This many reapers all together? They’re waiting for Death.”

“I’m sorry,” I stared at Cas in shock, “I could’ve sworn you said Death.”

He just nodded, “I will look into it.”

And he was gone. I looked over at our little group, hoping that my face didn’t give away my feelings. I was terrified. Do we really think we can take on Lucifer himself? Dean clapped his hands together, “Alright, team. Let’s go ice the devil.”

We followed his lead, covering each other’s backs. We were all together except for Bobby who stayed back to help from his home. “What is he planning?” Sam asked, looking over his shoulder for any sign of trouble.

Ellen shook her head, “I don’t think we want to know.”

“Let’s just hope the Colt works and we don’t have to worry about this guy ever again.” This all felt too easy to me. Why would he let us find him? Why weren’t we facing any obstacles whatsoever? There was no way that this would end well. Of course, I couldn’t let the team know about that. We were nearing the building Lucifer was in when a low growling came from behind us. My heart stopped. The last time I heard that sound was….

One look at Dean and my suspicions were confirmed. Hell hounds. “The store. Run!”

We all booked it to the shop on Dean’s command, shooting at the hell hounds behind us. It was no easy feat given the speed of those things.

We were so close to the store, but everything fell apart at the last second. Dean was making sure we were all safe, as he does until he got knocked to the ground. I screamed his name in horror, memories of his death flooded my mind as an icy feeling grew in my chest. I was running to him, but Jo jumped right in front of him effectively shielding him from the attack. She fell to the ground in front of him with blood gushing from her abdomen. I picked up the speed, shooting at the hounds as much as I could to keep them at bay. “Dean let’s go. C’mon!”

He looked a little out of it, but he grabbed Jo and we ran to the store. We were able to lock the door and get enough warding up just in time. I sighed and pulled at my hair, “Shoot.”

Sam groaned from across the room, “What now?”

Ellen was, understandably, on the verge of breaking down. She sat at her daughter’s side, clutching her hand to her chest. “You guys go ahead. I’ll s-stay here,” Jo looked so weak she could barely talk.

“No. We aren’t leaving you.”

“Someone has to be the distraction, Audrey. You have no choice.”

“Absolutely not!” I was racking my brain for ideas while Dean talked to Bobby on the phone. All we needed was Cas and…. bingo. “Jo, you just need to hold on. We can help.”

Dean called me over, “Sam and I are going ahead. You three stay here.”

“Dean—”

“You and Ellen can fight off the hell hounds. Just until we take Lucifer down.”

Yeah, right. Like that was even possible. “Dean, I need Cas. He can save Jo and get rid of the hell hounds.”

The look Dean gave me was ridiculous. If I didn’t know any better, I’d say he was jealous. “Cas is doing his own thing. Just…. Just hang on for as long as you can.”

This whole interaction was awful and so unlike Dean. “Yeah?! What about Jo?!”

His gaze lingered on her for a moment then he shrugged, “It’s Lucifer, Audrey. It’s not exactly a walk in the park.”

I glared at him, but he left me to go after Sam. I went back to Jo to see her struggling to breathe, “Okay. Jo, we are not giving up. I’m going to get Cas here and he will take care of you.”

She gave me a weak smile, “You are such a fighter. Maybe that’s why Dean likes you so much.”

“Jo, honey, we will make it out together.”

“Mom, we have to be realistic about this. If Cas comes, that’s great. But we need to be prepared for if he doesn’t.”

Her back-up plan was awful. Nothing about my friend blowing herself up was appealing to me, but she refused to listen to reason and we were running out of time. We quickly set everything up and the boys said an emotional goodbye to Jo before running out the back door.

I pressed my eyes closed, “Cas. I know you’re busy. I know there are a million things going on right now, but Jo needs your help. She’s dying and we need you. Please, Cas.”

It wasn’t the only prayer I had uttered today, and it wouldn’t be the last. Jo is not dying today. I sat by her side while Ellen went to fix the warding. “I’m sorry.”

“What? Jo, you have nothing you need to be sorry about.”

She coughed as she struggled to readjust her position, so I reached out to help her. “I hated you for so long. Dean only has eyes for you,” She sighed a little and gave me a weak smile, “But it makes sense. You’re gorgeous. You’re a great hunter and an even better person. Your optimism plays off of his pessimism in a way…. You two just make sense.”

I wasn’t sure what to do with that information. I didn’t want to fight her and drag out her pain in what could be her final moments. So, I just smiled, “Thank you.”

She laughed softly, “He loves you, y’know?”

I blinked in shock, “Jo, you’re amazing. You’re beautiful and kind, with such a fun spirit. Never forget about all of the people you’ve saved. You’re a fighter; don’t give up now. You’re not giving up on me, okay?”

Ellen came back just as her daughter was turning pale and leaned into my arms. “C’mon, Cas…” I mumbled.

The front doors of the shop blew open, a blinding white light flooding in. What a drama queen. Finally, Cas walked up and laid a hand on Jo. I watched her closely, holding my breath. After what felt like an eternity, her ragged breathing returned to normal and color returned to her cheeks. I forced myself to look at her abdomen and was relieved to see that it was fully healed.

At the same moment, Ellen broke into tears. “Let’s get you two home.” I was incredibly comforted by Cas’s voice, but the three of them disappeared in thin air. I love Cas more than anything, but I hated it when he did this. Before too long though, he was back in front of me, blue eyes full of concern.

“Thank you. Thank you so so much,” I hugged him before he could get away, and I was shocked when he hugged me back. “Are you okay, Cas? What happened?”

He shrugged, “I’ll tell you later. We need to help Sam and Dean.”

He grabbed my hand, and we were suddenly standing in a field with hundreds of people standing around. Sam and Dean were watching Lucifer who was laughing like a maniac, “—there are only five beings that the Colt doesn’t work on. Props for the dedication, but now you’ll die.”

Luckily, we had an angel on our side. Before Lucifer could attack, we were back at Bobby’s. Our spirits were broken, but at least we all made it back safely.

D E A N

“So, you’re telling me that you two…. died? Again?” Audrey was, understandably, not happy at the news.

I flashed her a smile, “Hey, there’s no need to worry, Sweetheart. I came back for you.”

She scoffed and Sam sighed, “Don’t let him fool you, it wasn’t a glamorous way to go out.”

“Yeah, yeah. I thought you were going shopping, Sam.”

“Well, that’s before Audrey showed up,” Sam pulled a face, “I’ll be back, Audrey. Don’t wanna leave you with this guy for too long.”

She laughed so I mocked her, but Sam left, and a weird silence fell over us. I was watching her as she kept her gaze on the floor. “What was it like?”

“What? Heaven?”

She nodded and finally looked back at me. She has no idea what she does to me, just the look alone made me weak, “Is it as bad as I imagine?”

I shrugged, “Uhm… well apparently it’s more of an ‘individual paradise’ type of thing. And I’ll just say that Sam and I have very different ideas of paradise.”

“Really? That’s kind of weird.”

“Not really. Think about it, Audrey, every single one of his best memories are the worst days of my life.”

She came and sat on the bed next to me, her blue eyes shining, “I don’t think that’s true, Dean.”

“Well,” I tried to shrug it off again, “I just saw undeniable proof.”

“Dean,” She placed a hand on my knee, “Your brother loves you. More than you know. I can see it every day. He looks up to you and loves spending time with you. If that weren’t true then he wouldn’t be here, and you know that.”

“But what if I am the only thing standing in the way of his goals? He has these ideas and dreams… and I’m making them impossible. I’m just like our dad.” The memories of what Sam’s best moments are would not leave my mind. The night he left us was one of them. He does not want to be here hunting; he wants to be at school.

She smiled at me and reached for my hand. I let her take it, feeling completely stupid. “Hey, speaking from experience, Sam would not be here if he’d rather be at Stanford. I believe that those memories stand out to him, but for different reasons than you think. Sam… he needed that time to find out who he was. He needed to explore the world and really figure everything out. But he loves you. And he loves hunting. I mean, you can see it.” I reluctantly nodded which earned me a smile from her, “What about you, Dean? What was it that helped you find out who you were?”

“I think…. I think I’m looking at her.” As cheesy as it was, the blush that grew on her cheeks was worth it. I was about to launch into a full explanation, but Sam opened the door at that moment.

“Am I interrupting something?” He asked with a smirk.

“Nope.”

“Absolutely not,” Audrey and I reacted at the same time, pulling away from each other and acting busy.

He began talking to Audrey about boring stuff, but I couldn’t help but think about all of my memories with her. She really had helped me figure everything out. I was young and dumb when I first met her, and she showed me the real world. She showed me how to have fun. She taught me that family can extend beyond blood relations. And even when I messed everything up, I learned from it. I learned about communication and all of my weaknesses. I learned about forgiveness and unconditional love. Audrey is my Stanford.

“Dean!”

I was brought back to reality by Audrey herself snapping in my face. “Huh?”

She smirked, “Welcome back to earth, lover boy. Cas is here.”

I huffed and she winked before Cas asked what had happened in Heaven with Joshua. I snorted, “Absolutely nothing.”

Cas shot back with his squinty-eyed confused face, so Sam cleared his throat, “He told us that God really is gone. Joshua is the one who saved us all when Lucifer showed up. We’re on our own.”

“But I thought—”

“Hey, it’s alright, Cas. Maybe they don’t think God’s around, but we know better. Right? I still think he’s around here somewhere.”

Cas smiled, “I appreciate your positivity, Audrey. But he’s gone.” I stared at the comforter on my bed. I didn’t think it would be so hard to tell Cas about all of this, but his heartbreak was really hard to watch. “I’ve always known it too.” He pulled out the amulet Sam had given me and tossed it back to me. I caught it with a sigh. “Thanks for your help.”

And Cas was gone with a flutter of his wings. I cleared my throat, “Well. We’ve got work to do. Let’s go.”

On my way out I tossed the amulet in the trash. What good is it now? It’s just a reminder of the continuous pain we had been put through. The overall mood in the group was pretty awful. We got in the Impala and drove off in silence. I could tell Audrey wanted to do something about it, but I’m glad she didn’t. Cas’s heartbreak had spread to me and Sam as well. It had become abundantly clear that, if we wanted to see change, it would have to come from us. We wouldn’t be getting any help. It really is up to us.


	23. Realize

“You’ve got to talk to him.” Things had gone steeply downhill since we tried to stop Lucifer. I’m talking time travel, zombies, and even the four horsemen. It is not a fun time to be a hunter, that’s for sure.

Worst of all, Dean had decided that he wanted to say ‘yes’ to Michael in order to save their half-brother Adam who was back from the dead. Honestly, I couldn’t decide who was the most upset with Dean at the moment. Cas had even beaten him up about it, which was super interesting but also horrible. Now Dean was locked up in the panic room and the boys seemed to think that I was the one who could change things.

“Sam, you know Dean is going to say yes as long as Adam’s life is in danger. Besides, what could I do that you and Cas couldn’t?”

“Audrey,” Cas grunted, “You are the voice of reason. Often the only one that Dean even listens to. You need to try.”

I made the mistake of looking at Sam. He was giving me the biggest puppy-dog eyes I had ever seen. I groaned, “Fine! I’ll see what I can do but please don’t expect much.”

“Great. Thank you,” Sam smiled.

“I will go with you,” Cas added.

I nodded and we headed down together to the panic room while Sam headed back to help Adam. I took a deep breath and knocked on the door before slipping in, leaving Cas to stand guard outside. It broke my heart a little to see him alone in here. He was laying on the bed, staring at the ceiling. “Dean?”

He sat up, “I know what you’re going to say, but you know that I have to do this.”

I sat next to him on the bed, “I’m not here to fight you. I just want to talk through this with you.” He nodded so I continued, “What happens if you don’t say yes?”

“Adam sacrifices himself.”

“How do you know?”

He gave me a dirty look, “He won’t have a choice.”

I sighed, “Dean, you can’t be sure that Adam will say yes. And Michael can’t do anything to either of you unless one of you gives permission.”

He rubbed his face, “I know you always assume the best of people, but—”

“What is this really about, Dean? You’ve always been horrified by the thought of being Michael’s vessel.” I searched his eyes, trying to figure him out.

“I can’t let them hurt anyone else.”

“It sounds like you’ve given up already.” He shrugged in response. “Look at how this is affecting everyone. Sam is stressed out, Bobby’s pissed, and Cas… Dean, just think about what Cas is going through.”

“Why sho---”

“He rebelled against Heaven. His reputation is tarnished, he can never go back home. He’s probably on the ‘Most Wanted’ list because of it. And how did all of that happen?” Dean shrugged again. “It was because of you. He stopped you from saying yes to Michael the first time and lost everything in the process. Don’t insult his sacrifice, Dean. He does so much for you.”

He was staring into my eyes which made me worry that I pissed him off, but his voice came out calm and gentle, “What about you?”

I rolled my eyes with a sigh. It’s like he didn’t listen to anything I’d said, typical boy. “I’m devastated. It feels like I just got you back, Dean. And I don--- I can’t lose you again.” I might be crazy, but I swear his gaze dropped to my lips for a full five seconds before coming back to my eyes. He brushed my hair behind my ear and cupped my jaw, sending my heart into overdrive. He leaned in and—

“Audrey,” Cas had opened the door, oblivious to what was going on, “Sam just called. I think he needs your help with Adam.”

I cursed Sam in my mind and placed a hand on Dean’s thigh, “Just think about the consequences of your actions, Dean.”

My face was burning, and I tried to push the memory from my mind. No way Dean was trying to kiss me. No way! I pulled the amulet from my pocket and held on to it. Dean had thrown it away a while ago, but I fished it back out. He claimed it was a symbol of hopelessness, but I couldn’t disagree more. It was a symbol of family and love. It was a symbol of years of friendship and hope. I was not going to let him give it up, and it brought me a lot of comfort. I quickly put it around my neck and tucked it under my shirt. Things are going to work out. I headed up the stairs, but I didn’t find Sam.

“Sam??? Sam?” I ran around Bobby’s house, but I couldn’t find him anywhere. “Adam?!” I went to try looking outside, but I opened the door to find a panicked Sam reaching for the handle.

“Bad news… we lost Adam.”

“What?!”

He looked completely dejected as he ran a hand through his hair, “Yeah. They got him.”

“We need Cas.” He nodded in agreement and I bolted it back downstairs calling out for Cas. But, again, I couldn’t find him anywhere. Instead, I found Dean. “Dean?!”

“Don’t hate me! We have to stop Michael.”

I squinted at him but before I could answer Sam spoke up from behind me, “We need his help, Audrey. And I trust him to make the wrong decision.”

I didn’t know if I felt the same way, but I sighed. “We’ll do it together,” Dean placed a hand on my shoulder, “I’m not giving in. I promise.”

I nodded reluctantly and we headed out to find their brother. I was honestly not happy with Dean at all. Cas deserved to be treated better than he was. If we make it out of this, I’m sure I’ll beat up Dean.

I hated being back in the place that the angels had trapped me in for so long, but we did what we had to do. I ran to Adam as soon as we got inside, completely ignoring Zachariah telling the boys about the plan and how it involved resurrecting their half-brother. I checked him for injuries and held a hand to his forehead, “Are you okay, Adam?”

He seemed surprised. And that made sense, we hadn’t talked much at all. The boys were so shocked that he was back, and Adam himself was so confused and angry. He nodded, “Yeah, yeah I’m fine.”

I smiled at him and gave his arm a squeeze before turning back to what was happening. I can’t imagine how Adam was feeling right now, it had to completely suck.

“So, Dean. What do you say?”

I think the entire room was holding their breath, including the four other angels standing ‘guard’. I watched Dean with hope in my heart, not feeling too confident. Luckily though, he surprised me. “Nothing’s changed.”

The older angel groaned, “You know what comes next, then. Which one should I start with?” I felt a chill run through me as his gaze landed on me. He smirked and held up a hand. Before anything could happen, though, Cas appeared and expelled the angel guards as well as himself.

I breathed a sigh of relief, feeling bad for Cas since he was sent back to Heaven twice now in one day. Unfortunately, Zachariah was still around. He shrugged and looked back to the three of us with a sick smile. And then Dean changed his mind, “NO! Stop. I’ll do it, just leave them alone.”

I blinked at Dean, the mere thought of losing him again brought tears to my eyes. His eyes locked with mine and he winked.

Okay…. So, I just need to trust him.

The room started shaking and getting brighter before Dean spoke again, “Actually, I change my mind. I’ll say yes on one condition… that Michael kills you.”

I threw a hand over my mouth to stifle a laugh and Dean didn’t wait for an answer. He drove an angel blade into Zachariah’s chest, and we ran as fast as we could toward the exit. Sam slammed the door behind him, and I yelled out about Adam…. But it was a little too late.

Dean tried to open the door with a yelp, “It’s too hot.”

“Shoot. Guys, we were supposed to help him…”

They nodded sadly, but we were all forced to look away from the sheer brightness of the room.

Finally, I was able to squint enough to see Dean running back into the room. I ran after him, but Sam grabbed a hold of my waist to stop me, “We don’t know what’s in there.”

I decided not to fight, enough drama had ensued already. Instead, I placed my hand over the amulet to again remind myself not to give up hope. When Dean came back out, he shook his head slightly, “He’s gone.”

“Does that mean----?”

He nodded, “Michael got his vessel.”

T H E N

“Okay, now this is definitely something we need to check out.”

My brother sighed and looked to Kaden, “Do we have to go now?”

“Of course. We’ll wear our fed outfits and see what we can find out.”

My lip curled, “Do we have to? You know how I feel about---”

“You look hot in yours, shut up.

I exchanged a look with my brother who sternly told Kaden he couldn’t talk to me like that, but it was no use. I mean, the outfit Kaden had bought me was… terrible. It was a pencil skirt and a tight blouse. If I hadn’t bought the blazer back in Omaha, then I would have been showing everything off. At first, Kaden was upset with me, but I convinced him that it was more professional this way. And Kaden isn’t a terrible guy, the outfit had it’s uses. Often, I was able to be a good enough distraction to get the information we needed.

We suited up and headed thirty miles west to Aspen, Colorado. “So, Eli. Have you heard anything from Danielle?”

He shook his head slightly, “Nope. Unfortunately, she hasn’t been able to write to me much. She’s doing well, though… I’m proud of her.” 

I smiled to myself, “What’s it like knowing you’ve met your soulmate.”

“You should know what it’s like, Audrey. I’m right here.”

I ignored Kaden and continued looking at my brother in awe. He finally chuckled, “It’s… it’s amazing. I never feel alone, even though she’s far away. It’s bliss.”

“When did you know she was the one?”

I figured I was probably being annoying with all of these questions, but a girl can dream, right? I’d never really had a boyfriend since all the boys I knew growing up practically hated me. And all I wanted was to find my ‘special someone’ so I could decide what to do about my future. But my brother had a far-off look in his eye and a soft smile on his lips, “I knew as soon as I met her. There was something that drew me to her and we just…clicked. I knew right away that I wanted to spend the rest of my life with her.”

I sighed a typical hopeless romantic sigh and Kaden cleared his throat, “So, I think what we have here is a ghost. The objective now is to find out what the police think is going on and where to start. Let’s go with Plan A.”

That meant that the pressure was all on me. I was supposed to go in and flirt my heart out to get information. Clearly, Kaden thought these guys would be a pain to deal with. I sighed and stepped out of the car, tossing my curls behind my shoulders. I took a deep breath and tried to channel as much confidence as I could. This was never easy.

I headed toward the building, not allowing myself to think too far ahead when I saw a boy in the corner of my eye. I turned to him and a strange feeling washed over me. I felt like I knew him already… and I felt like I couldn’t just walk by.

Praying that Kaden wasn’t watching my every move, I changed course. “Hey, do I know you?”

When he looked up all the air left my lungs. This man was beautiful. He was wearing a gray t-shirt under a brown leather jacket that looked two sizes too big on him. He had a pendant around his neck, and his brown hair was disheveled as if he was constantly running his hands in it. His face matched his overall vibe with green eyes that shone with mischief and a lopsided, cocky smile.

Luckily, he didn’t notice me studying him since he was checking me out himself. He grinned, “You know, I think you owe me a kiss, Audreykins.”

My jaw dropped. Somehow, I hadn’t noticed the car behind him, but the classic 1967 Impala confirmed my suspicions, “Dean?!?!”

He laughed and, picking me up from my waist, twirled me around, “It’s so good to see you!”

“Uh, ditto!! Last time I saw you you were---”

“Kicking your butt at pool?”

I shrugged, “I was gonna say shorter than me actually.”

Dean Winchester and I had met a few times before. When my parents were alive, they’d drop us off at the hotel room with Dean and Sam. And once we moved to Bobby’s the boys would drop by every so often. The night in question took place when we were about eight years old. He was a few inches shorter than me which drove him crazy, but he was already a mastermind at pool. I hated the game, but I wanted to hang out with the boys, so I sucked it up. While Eli was helping Sam with his homework, Dean started a bet with me. Again, I sucked at pool, so I lost. And clearly, he was still waiting for his payment.

“And I gotta say, you look great from up here.” He winked and I rolled my eyes. “What brings you out here?”

“A case. Jennifer—”

“Jennifer Rhodes? Sweet, me too. Let’s team-up.”

I gaped at him, “Really?!”

“Course! I gotta get that kiss somehow,” He winked again.

I held my ground even though my stomach was turning, “Never gonna happen, Dean.”

“Not even if I tell you all of the information you’re going in there to get?”

I considered it for a moment before an excited laugh rang out from behind us, “Dean Winchester, is that you?!?!”

Dean grinned and ran past me to hug my brother, “Eli! How’ve you been, man?”

“Great!! We’re good. How’re you? How’s Sam?”

“Uhh…we’re…uh, good. Yeah, we’re good.”

I made a mental note to talk to him about that later when Kaden walked up. “Dean, this is Kaden. He’s my best friend. Kaden, this is Dean. A close family friend.”

Kaden nodded firmly and turned his attention to me, “Have you even gone in there yet?”

I shrugged, “I mean, Dean’s way ahead of us. I thought we could team up?”

Kaden didn’t seem too pleased, but Eli nodded, “Of course! We need all the help we can get.”

“Okay, well we are not taking that thing,” Dean glared at Kaden’s truck. “So whenever y’all are ready we can head out in Baby here.”

I snorted, “You call your car Baby?”

He smirked at me, “It’s a special relationship. You wouldn’t understand.”

I threw my hands up in defense, “Alright, alright. Just let me change first, I am not wearing this any longer than I have to.”

The boys headed out for some hands-on sleuthing while I stayed behind researching the area and past events that had taken place. The case we were working on was because a girl had died while visiting the home of her late friend, Jennifer Rhodes. Jennifer herself had a case that had never been resolved, she was found dead in her home and they settled for the suicide explanation. I’d sent the boys to the college where one of their mutual friends was to get some information from her.

Luckily, they’d just gotten back. I hated being holed up in the motel room and they had food too. I ignored them all and snatched up the box of Chinese from Dean’s hands. “Well, hello to you too, Sweetheart.”

I smiled at him through a mouthful of noodles and he chuckled, taking a seat across from me at the table. “So, her friend claimed that she was really close to Jennifer and Sarah, but she didn’t know what had happened. All she would tell us is the other names of their friend group.”

I nodded, “So we should go talk to them next. Maybe something went down that no one knows about.”

“Ugh, at least finish the food in your mouth before talking,” Kaden gagged and I stuck my tongue out at him, “I think we should split up to tackle the rest.”

“I agree,” Dean added after shoving his mouth full of chicken, “Audrey and I will take the two boys.”

I tried to hide my laughter at Kaden’s reaction before meeting Dean’s eyes. He gave me a wink and I blushed. He’s absolutely adorable. I stuffed more Chow Mein in my mouth, and we started an odd game of telephone, each of us laughing and trying to stuff more food in our mouths in between rounds.

Eli chuckled, “You two are a match made in Heaven. We’re gonna head out and talk to the girls, we’ll see you guys later.”

They headed out and Dean cleared his throat, “Do you always let that guy talk to you like that?”

I shrugged. Truth is, Kaden was the only person outside of family that I’d met who cared about me. Albeit a little too much. “He has good intentions. Just comes off a little strong.”

He scowled, “I don’t like him.”

“He’ll grow on you.” I stood up and stretched, “Well. I guess I’d better get changed.”

“No, you don’t need to do that.”

I looked down at my t-shirt and jeans confused, “No one will believe we’re feds if I’m dressed like this…”

“That’s the point, Audrey.” I looked at him with a furrowed brow and he chuckled, “Look, there are better ways of getting information. These are frat boys. I’m willing to bet they’d be more willing to talk to a sorority girl than a federal agent.”

I gaped at him, “You…. You are totally right.”

He tapped his head, “I’m an expert at this stuff, Sweetheart. I’ll show you the ropes.”

I giggled, “I can’t wait.”

I knew he didn’t wear suits or anything, but that was the only way I’d ever done it. Still, I was beyond excited to go hunting with Dean. And not just for the hunting advice. We got to the dorm where I guess both of the boys lived and I took a deep breath, “Alright, so I just channel my basic sorority girl?”

He nodded, “Yup. We’ll just say I’m your twin and we’re new to the school.” I shot him a look and he laughed, “What?”

“You think we can pull off being twins?”

“I’ll just have to keep my hands to myself for a little,” He winked and got out of the car.

I blushed and smiled to myself before running after him. The door opened and I sank back into my hip, twirling my hair around my finger, “Hey!! My name’s Ashley and this is my brother, Josh.”

Dean greeted them with a head nod which they gladly returned, “We just transferred here. I’m looking for some new bros.”

I grinned, “And I’m, like, trying to make sure he finds hot ones.” I threw a wink at them for good measure and the two guys grinned back.

“Yeah, come on in guys. I’m Derek and this is Trey.” They walked into the house and Dean rose his eyebrows in a ‘told ya so’ way.

We talked to the boys for a while, just getting to know them and building up trust. I wasn’t sure what Dean was thinking, so I was just gonna follow his lead. We talked about sports, movies, and school.

“You guys have got a really nice place, man,” Dean did a handshake with Trey.

I was sitting next to Derek on the couch and I looked around the room quickly, “Yeah, looks like you guys got the place all to yourselves.” Derek nodded and I smirked, leaning forward to run my fingers up his arm, “Think of all the things we could do in here.” I let my hand run through his hair as I kept his eyes locked to mine.

And, college boy that he was, he ducked down and started planting kisses on my neck. I played along until Dean cleared his throat, “So, we heard that there’s some sketchy ghost story that happened here…”

“Oh, yes!” I cheered, grabbing Derek by the shirt, “I love the origins of ghost stories! You’ve got to tell us how Jenny became a ghost!!”

He leaned back, grabbing his neck, “Well… okay. But you can’t treat us any differently after we tell you, okay?!”

I nodded and looked over at Trey with my chin in my hands, batting my eyelashes for extra measure. “Jennifer Rhodes was actually a part of our friend group. One of those… weird types, you know?”

“Yeah, she had braces, frizzy hair, the works. She just…. Didn’t fit in. And one night we thought it would be fun to scare her a little,” Derek shivered, “We didn’t know it would end so poorly.”

“Wait, what did you do?” I asked staring into Derek’s eyes.

“It was really cool, actually. We set up one of those dunk tanks like the ones at carnivals, y'know? And we locked her inside. But she didn’t last long and we…we didn’t let her out.”

I exchanged a look with Dean. “Dude….”

“And that’s how it happened?” I gasped, sounding totally invested.

The guys nodded in unison, “We then made it look like suicide, but it was actually our fault. And they say she’s back and that she’s…. coming after us. I mean, Sarah didn’t believe it and now she’s dead.”

“But, like, you guys aren’t like cursed or anything… right?” I asked, pretending to be worried.

“Absolutely not, babe,” Derek leaned back over and kissed me, “You’re safe with me here.”

“You’ll protect me from the ghosts?”

He nodded and kissed me again. This was totally weird, but we had gotten more than enough information. Jennifer was a vengeful spirit.

“I don’t mean to break up the happy couple, but our dad’s calling. We need to go pretend like we’re studying,” Dean groaned.

The boys laughed, “Alright, we’ll see you guys later.”

Derek gave me one last kiss and we ran out. We didn’t talk until we were back in the car. “That was so much easier, Dean!!”

“Yeah,” he smiled, “It was fun. But I want you to know that you don’t have to use your body to get guys to open up.”

I looked at him from the corner of my eye, “Dean! Are you jealous?!?”

He went red but shook his head, “I just… you don’t like the fed suit that Kaden made you wear, I don’t want you doing stuff that will make you uncomfortable just to solve cases.”

I blinked. I hadn’t ever really thought about what I wanted. Kaden just said it would be easiest that way…. “Thank you, Dean. That means a lot.” He nodded and I cleared my throat, “So what’s next?”

“Well, we’ll see what the other two found out. But we hunt it next. Probably burn her bones.”

I nodded, “Alright. Sounds like y’all will have fun with that.”

“You’re not coming with?” He rose an eyebrow at me.

I shook my head, “Nah. I usually don’t come along for the hunting itself.”

“You want to?” I nodded and he grinned, “Alright. I’ll start teaching you about stuff and then you can start coming along once you’re comfortable.”

His words made me smile. Not so much because I wanted to hunt, but because he intended on staying with us. When we got back to the motel, Kaden was furious at us for not posing as agents until we told him everything we’d learned. They left to burn the bones, but Dean stayed with me.

“Have you ever hung out on the roof?”

I looked at him like he was crazy, “What are you talking about?”

He shrugged, “C’mon” He opened the window and climbed out just a little before turning back and offering me a hand. I gladly took it, butterflies stirring in my stomach, and he led me out to a gorgeous view.

“Wow. This is beautiful!”

He nodded, “It calms me down." It was nice out here. We could see a few miles out, and everything was lit by the sunset. I'm gonna have to do this more often. "I’m glad we met up today. It seems like I finally found what I’ve been missing.”

I smiled to myself, “I’m glad too, Dean. I haven’t been this happy in a long time.”

“You know what? Me neither.”

I took a deep breath. Now was the time. “Dean…. Where’s Sam?”

He froze for a moment, “Sam’s with my dad. They’re---”

“C’mon, Dean. I heard how you talked about him earlier. Is he okay?”

Finally, he looked back at me, “Sam wanted to get out of the hunting life. He left us for Stanford.” I nodded but stayed quiet. From what I remember about their dad, Dean had probably not been able to talk this through with anyone. I wanted to give him the chance. “The night he left was awful. He got in a yelling match with my dad. I didn’t want him to leave, but I wanted him to do what was best for him. It just hurt that he left and never looked back. I haven’t really heard from him since. It sucks cause it feels like we weren’t enough for him.”

I laced my fingers through his and rested my head on his shoulder, “You know, Dean…. It takes a really special kind of person to do something like that. You’re a great brother.”

“Thank you for letting me get it all out.”

“Course. You know I’m also doing school? I wanted to explore the world a little. Hunting is great and all, but sometimes you just need a little more. Sam’s decision had nothing to do with you, Dean. You two are great friends. And now that you’re back with me I don’t ever want you to leave again.”

He squeezed my hand, “Careful what you wish for, Sweetheart.” I laughed. As if he could ever get annoying. “What are you studying?”

“I want to be a doctor.”

I felt him tense up, “That’s…. amazing!”

“I know it’s a lot, but I just want to be able to save people.”

He rested his chin on my head, “You’re incredible.”

We sat in silence for a while just looking at the stars, my stomach doing flips. My mind wandered back to my conversation with Eli earlier. Could this be what I was looking for? It sure felt like it. When we saw the boys pull up, I sat straight up, “Should we---?”

He nodded, “Yeah, let’s go inside.”

We got back in just as they walked into the room. “Well, we got her. I’ve gotta say, working with Dean sure makes things a hundred easier.”

I smiled at my brother and looked to Kaden for his approval. “Dean, I’m not sure what your plans are… but how’d you like to join the team?”

“Uhm… heck yeah! We’ll be like the Scooby Gang!”

I laughed and, out of pure joy, hugged him tightly. He reciprocated and began stroking my hair. “I can’t wait to hunt with you, Dean.”

“I’m happy just being by your side, Sweetheart.”

N O W

I headed downstairs looking for something to eat, but instead, I found Dean. I decided I needed to share this with someone, why not the man himself? “Dean! You’re never gonna believe the dream I just had.”

He leaned back in thought so I prepared myself for the worst. “Monkeys kidnapped you and shipped you to Asia?” I shook my head. “You were the Pirate captain and had to fight off the Kraken?”

I laughed and sat next to him, resting my elbow on the couch and my face in my palm, “Close, but no.”

He frowned, “I give up.”

I chuckled, “Already?” He nodded. “Alright, well I dreamt about our first hunt together. It was like the whole day in complete accuracy.”

He hummed, “Weird. Maybe that’s the universe reminding me that you still owe me that kiss.”

I groaned. He had completely forgotten until I opened my mouth, “I was gonna go on and on about how sweet you were, but I’ve changed my mind.”

He smiled slightly but didn’t comment, which I thought was weird for him. I studied his face for a moment, trying to figure him out. He stared back and we didn’t speak for about ten minutes. And I was fine with that. It felt just like the night on the roof. He put his hand on my leg, “You know, Audrey…. That was one of the best nights of my life.”

I didn’t know what to say. He was being oddly intimate and vulnerable, and it wasn’t a side of him that he was used to, “Really?” If I didn’t look as flustered as I felt, my voice definitely gave me away.

He gave me a soft smile, “Of course. I’d just lost Sam and I was feeling…lonely. Luckily, I ran into you. And you were so kind and genuine…and funny. I’m so glad you guys invited me to stay with you.”

I shrugged, trying to look more casual. I cleared my throat, “Uhm…yeah, me too. You taught me a lot that day. I think I would have been a lot different without you in my life.”

“I will say, though, I am a little upset that the random frat boy got a kiss from you before I did.”

I hit his arm softly, “Shut up, Dean.”

“Hey, I’m serious!” He laughed, “That bet made a lot to young Dean.”

“C’mon, Dean. You don’t mean that.”

“Sure I do!”

He looked completely serious, but there was no way I was letting him win with this one. “Well, I have kissed you so do you think I could get a pass on this?” I gave him my best puppy-dog eyes.

“Hey! That was shifter me, it doesn’t count.” He matched my eyes and I inwardly groaned. This is gonna be a lot harder than I thought. “You made a bet! You need to uphold your end.”

My heart picked up… he must really want this stupid kiss. But, knowing what I felt for him and knowing how he treated me in the past… I was not about to let that happen, “Dean, we were kids.”

“C’mon, Audrey it’ll only be like two seconds and then you don’t have to worry about it anymore.”

I groaned, “I shouldn’t have brought it up. I’m sorry, Dean.” I got up to leave, not trusting myself at all.

He pouted, still in a playful mood, he ran in front of me and grabbed my shoulders, “Your kiss with Shifter Me was really that bad? You don’t want to kiss me at all?”

“Not like this, Dean." As soon as I’d said it, I instantly regretted it. I threw a hand over my mouth and hurried out the door before he could see how red I was getting. I couldn’t believe I’d betrayed myself like that! All I wanted was to get him to forget about the bet, but I made things a million times worse. I was hiding in a cornfield where I knew he wouldn’t find me and tugging at my hair. How could I be so impulsive? Now things are going to be weird, and I wasn’t even sure if I had feelings for him like that. Hopefully he didn't pick up on the meaning.

I was about to full-on panic when my phone rang, but luckily it was Cas. I answered it with a grin, “Cas! You don’t know how glad I am to hear from you.”

“Audrey. I need your help.”

“Anything, Cas. What’s up?” I found it odd that he was calling, he usually just teleported in and stole me away.

“Unfortunately, I am practically human at the moment, so I have no way to get around. But I want to help you with hunting down the four horsemen.”

“Sure thing, Cas. Where are you? I’ll head out now.” I didn’t ask what happened, I thought it would be much better to ask in person. He gave me the address and I texted Bobby that I was heading out before hopping in his truck and driving away before Dean could find where I was.


	24. Lonely Avenue

S A M

It’s wonderful having a friend like Cas. Even when he was practically human, he still pulled through for us. Right as Dean and I were about to die at Pestilence’s hand, Cas showed up and cut off his finger, effectively ending Pestilence’s hold on us.

A demon rushed at him, so he stabbed him and Pestilence told us we were too late before he disappeared, leaving the ring with us. “You’re the best, Cas,” I mumbled, still too tired to get up just yet.

“How’d you make it so fast, Cas? I thought your juice was gone.” Dean was able to stand using the hospital bed next to him. He was skeptical of Cas which was weird since he usually trusted him blindly.

“I uh…. I took a bus.”

“Mhm…. And Audrey? Where is she?” That’s when it clicked. He wasn’t doubting Cas, something happened between him and Audrey. I watched my brother carefully; why hadn’t he said anything to me about it?

Cas shrugged slightly and turned his attention back to me, “Are you two okay?”

I nodded and stood up as well, “Thanks to you. And we’re one step closer to stopping the apocalypse.”

We drove back to Bobby’s in an odd silence. “Dean, what happened between you and Audrey?”

Dean looked back to Cas with an odd look, “Nothing, man. I’m just worried about her.”

I didn’t push him, even though I wanted to so bad. We were already fighting about my plan to say yes to Lucifer, and things were weird enough with Cas as it was… I just dropped it. Little did I know that things would get worse once we got to Bobby’s.

Dying to get out of the awkward situation I was in, I rushed into his house with fervor, “We’ve got it.”

“Great,” Bobby grunted, looking over the three of us, “I’ve got news too. Death is about to blow Chicago off the map.”

“What?! How did you find him?” Dean asked, temper building.

“Does it matter? We’ve got to get there as soon as possible.” Bobby already had bags ready and was rushing toward the door.

His attitude tipped me off as well, “It’s just kind of weird, Bobby. I mean, we were clueless about him before and now you know where he is and exactly where his and what his plan is.”

“Hello, boys.” I cringed before even turning around. If Crowley was here, that could only mean one thing. “Why don’t you tell them how you found out?” I did not miss his thick British accent or the way he dragged his sentences on forever. He sounded like a James Bond villain.

Bobby sighed, “I sold my soul.”

Dean and I broke out into various complaints; asking how he could do this, if Audrey knew, why it had to be Crowley, etc.

“You boys can fight as much as you want, but we have more important matters at hand,” Crowley snapped. Cas hadn’t stopped giving Crowley the stink eye since he walked in.

Bobby nodded, “I hate to agree with a demon, but he’s right. We also have to stop a breakout of Croatoan Virus before they kill millions.”

I’m sure Dean was at his exploding point now; so much had happened in the past few days. We decided that Crowley and Dean would head up to stop death while the rest of us went to stop the outbreak. It was nice to have Bobby back on his legs since he wouldn’t have to leave us on our own.

It was still so weird that Cas had to drive around with us, but it ended up being really nice. After only a few moments of driving, Cas cleared his throat, “I have something to say.”

I expected him to continue, but he was clearly waiting for recognition. “Yes?”

“I didn’t take a bus; Audrey drove me to the hospital.”

“What?!?!” I turned to look at him over my shoulder.

He nodded, “Yes. I called her to ask for help and she said she wouldn’t be staying.”

“Why not?!” Bobby and I asked at the same time. Clearly, something really had happened between her and Dean and it had to have happened before we went to fight Pestilence. But it was weird that Bobby also didn’t know anything about it.

“When she came, she started crying and told me that she was going back to school. I didn’t understand why she was so sad about that.”

I exchanged looks with Bobby and pulled out my phone, dialing Audrey. She didn’t answer the first time, so I tried twice more before using Bobby’s phone. That time she answered immediately. “Bobby?”

“I see how it is. You drop everything for Bobby but ignore everyone else…”

She sighed, “That’s not true. I would also answer if it was Cas.”

I laughed. She and Dean were similar in how they’d deflect in serious conversations. “We just wanted to make sure you were okay. Cas told us you weren’t coming back.”

“Dang it, Cas!!”

“Dean isn’t here. He doesn’t know anything.” It was a bold attempt at getting her to open up, but it would test my hypothesis.

She sighed again, “How could you tell?”

“Hmmm, maybe it was the brooding, snappy attitude of my brother.”

“Sorry I left you with that mess. I just felt like it was time for me to finish school.”

So, she really wasn’t going to tell me anything. I decided not to burden her with the truth of our suicidal plan to stop the apocalypse. “Well, I’m always here for you if you ever need someone to talk to.”

“Thanks, Sam. I’m…I’m sorry for dipping out right before the big fight.”

“It’s alright. We get it. Just stay safe out there.”

She was silent for a moment. “Sam?”

“Hmm?”

“Just know… I’m… I—”

“It’s alright, Audrey, I get it.”

“Take care, Sammy.”

I sat up straight. It was the first time she’d called me that. And I… didn’t hate it. In fact, it made me emotional. My heart panged knowing that this could be our last conversation ever. “We love you, Audrey. See you soon.”

“So?” Bobby asked.

I shook my head, “Nothing. But we have work to do.”

I told them my plan to say yes to Lucifer. They sat silent for a while until Cas nodded as if he thought it would work, “Michel has a vessel. If you give Lucifer control and you aren’t able to regain it, everyone will die.”

I didn’t like the sound of that…but “What other choice do we have?”

He nodded, “Very well. But you will need to consume much more demon blood than you ever have before. It will strengthen your vessel.”

Gross. I nodded, knowing that I would do whatever I had to in order to save everyone. And right now, that meant stopping a virus.

D E A N

“No, the best thing for you to do is stay out of this. Stay where you are; we have it under control,” Bobby was on the phone, presumably with another hunter. They had been calling in waves since the disasters started. Since Sam disappeared with Lucifer in control. I couldn’t believe I’d let him say yes. We could have come up with a better plan. If only—“Audrey, listen to me. Everything is going to be okay.”

My head shot straight up. It was Audrey on the phone? I gestured for Bobby to give me the phone, but he pretended he didn’t see me. “It’s almost over, just hang tight. I love you, kiddo. The boys do too; all three of them.” When he hung up, I asked him what was going on and why I couldn’t talk to her.

He was silent for a moment. I didn’t understand what had happened between us because everything was fine before I teased her about the kiss. And she ran off after admitting that something was going on between us… it was all very confusing. “She’s just really scared. I didn’t want to put too much stress on her.”

“Okay, well what about us?”

“We’ve got this, Dean,” Cas said. I groaned inwardly; Cas was human now, meaning our chances of winning were slim to none.

I had called Chuck, so we now knew where to go. Cas didn’t want to go, he told me I’d see Sam die. But if he was going down, I was going with him. I sped off to Kansas, worried about how everything would play out. But I had faith in Sam. We can win this.

I drove as fast as I could, with them following closely behind. I pulled up into the cemetery where Lucifer and Michael were mid-fight, feeling amazing. It was almost like a movie. “Get out of here, Dean. You are no longer a part of this story.”

The next few moments passed in a blur. Cas burned Michael, then Lucifer killed him and Bobby before proceeding to beat me to a pulp. I was trying all I could to reach my brother, glad that Bobby had encouraged Audrey not to come. “Sammy, I know you’re in there. You’ve got this.”

“Helloooooooooo, Deano? Your brother is gonzo!” Lucifer continued to rail into me, making it hard to even breathe, “I’m gonna enjoy this. Sammy here is gonna feel every blow. He’s going to watch, knowing that he killed his brother.” Suddenly Sam looked up and paused. He pulled his hand back and I cheered inside. Maybe I was right. Maybe we can still win. “Don’t worry, Dean. I’ve got him.”

I wanted to tell him that I loved him. I wanted to hug him one more time. But he had to move fast. Just as he opened the portal, Michael came back to stop him. I watched in horror as my little brother pulled Michael with him and got sealed up forever in a cage.

What now? I was all alone; my brother was gone forever. I had no one to turn to, and I was near death. I managed to pull my legs to my chest and was about to cry when Cas reappeared and put his fingers to my forehead. Suddenly, everything stopped hurting and I could see again. “Cas??”

He smiled, “God brought me back better than ever.” He turned and brought Bobby back and I couldn’t stop the grin that broke out across my face.

“Thanks, Cas. So, what’s next?”

He paused and looked around, “I’d better get back to Heaven. It’s gotta be a mess now that Michael’s gone.”

“Yeah, well I’m going after God next if he ever shows his face.” I couldn’t help it… my brother was gone forever. He could have done something, anything, about it.

Cas sighed and looked at me with a sad smile, “Don’t forget that he did help us in the end. And, no, life isn’t perfect now. But demons aren’t in charge. Life is… back to normal. I will see you again soon, Dean.”

And Cas was gone. I turned to Bobby who asked me what my plans were. I shrugged, “Sam begged me to go after Audrey.”

“Well, are you?”

I shrugged, “Not yet. I’m gonna find myself first.” It sucked that she wasn’t here to help me through this, but I guess I deserved it for all I had done to her. And of course, I was going after her; I’m not stupid.

Bobby nodded, “Well, keep in touch boy. I love ya.” We hugged and he headed home while I beelined for Harvard. I remembered all of the times she and Sam argued about which school was better when we were younger. It took me an entire 23 hours to get there, but I finally pulled into the parking lot, excited to see Audrey and talk things through with her. But I forgot who I was dealing with here.

I happened to see her walking by, but she was surrounded by four other guys, all competing for her attention. My heart sank; if only I’d found out where she was a month ago when she left. I barely had a chance with her when she was hidden away from the world. Now that she’s back in the real world, I’d lost her forever. The catch of a lifetime.

I sighed and made a rash decision. It was a horrible decision, really, but my options were limited, and I had nothing. I am gonna try Lisa one more time.

A U D R E Y

I finally arrived at home after one of the longest days of my life. I was so happy here and I had amazing friends, but I was exhausted. A smile came to my face as I thought about how younger me would have never seen me where I am today. I made some wonderful friends, I was two semesters away from becoming a real doctor, and Jordan had even asked me out. I pulled some orange juice out of my fridge, but nearly dropped it when I saw a shadowy figure from the corner of my eye.

“Hello, Audrey.”

“Cas! You can’t scare me like that.”

He smiled and sat down at the counter, “There are some things I need to tell you.”

Yikes. Cas was in serious mode and that was not a good sign. So I sat down and listened to everything that had happened over the past month, guilt washing over me that I’d left my family alone because of some complicated feelings. Clearly, I am the worst person alive. “So, Sam and Adam are both locked up in the cage…. With Michael and Lucifer?”

Cas nodded, and I started crying. Hard. He awkwardly patted my back until I calmed down. I just couldn’t believe that Sam was gone. After everything, he was just gone. “And Dean? Bobby?”

He shrugged, “They’re okay.”

I wiped some tears away, “Well look at you!! Back to full power, You’re amazing!”

He smiled weakly, ‘Thanks, but I have much left to do before I’m even good, let alone amazing.”

I giggled. Cas was so loyal and so goodhearted. Everything about him made me happy, “I love you, Cas. Thanks for letting me know everything.”

He nodded and disappeared. It was kind of sad that he was back to full power, I missed having long and good conversations with him. But now that he was gone, I sat on my couch and pulled out my phone.

Dean didn’t answer which was understandable. But I still left a message, “Hi, Dean. I’m so sorry for running away like that. I just felt the call of being a doctor.” I cleared my throat, I hated lying to Dean, “Anyway, Cas just updated me on what happened. And I’m sorry. If you ever need someone to talk to, I’m here. I get it. We’re family.” I hung up before I could say anymore. I came here to get out of any potential relationship with Dean, and I think it was fate. As soon as I got here, I met Jordan. And he is wonderful. Something is really there, and I can’t wait to explore it. Although things sucked in my hunting life, I knew I was exactly where I needed to be.


	25. Love Bug

“I’m sorry, but I won’t even be coming back.”

“What are you doing out there that’s so dangerous? I should be there to protect you.” I paused my packing and placed a hand on Jordan’s cheek.

“You’ve taken great care of me, Jordan. But I think it’s time I go.” I had just graduated med school about a month ago and things were starting to get serious with Jordan. My life should have been perfect, I had everything…. But I felt like something was missing. And when I heard the new voicemail from Dean, I took it as a sign.

He was in serious danger. He had been turned into a vampire of all things, and I didn’t want him to make any rash decisions like he had with my brother.

Of course, he wasn’t the only reason I was heading back. Sam had apparently been back for a while too. And I missed hunting. I missed being a force for good in the world.

“So, you’re breaking up with me because your dad called you home?”

I sighed and threw my bag over my shoulder, “You have to believe me, Jordan. It has nothing to do with you, you are wonderful. It’s just…” I had already lied to him about my entire life and who had called me…there was no way we could keep this going.

“What?” I felt awful. Jordan was crying now, and it wasn’t right of me to do this. I was pulling a Dean Winchester.

“There are things you don’t know. About me, about what’s out there. I have a responsibility and I can’t expect you to come with me. Thank you, for everything.”

I turned on my heel and ran out of my apartment building to get to my car. I was far too eager to leave this all behind, which answered a lot of questions for me.

I sped off to the location of Dean’s phone. Anxiety was creeping in about how everything would go down, but I tried to push it away. These guys were my family. I arrived and ran to the door, knocking and hoping for the best.

The door opened to reveal Sam with longer hair and a moody countenance. I grinned, “Sam!” I went in for a hug, but he sidestepped me so I stumbled into the room instead.

Dean was there, his face in a pillow. My heart jumped at the sight of him, but I tried not to react. There was also an older gentleman standing over a table with a syringe in his hand. He shot me a questioning look, “Um, hello.”

I opened my mouth, but Sam spoke for me, “This is our friend, Audrey. Audrey, this is our grandpa, Samuel Campbell.”

I’m pretty sure that guy was supposed to be dead, but Sam and Dean had both been to Hell and back, so I wasn’t surprised anymore. “It’s very nice to meet you, sir.” He nodded curtly in response.

“What are you doing here?” And that would be Dean. He was squinting at me from across the room.

I didn’t let him scare me. I stood up straighter, “I came to help.”

He snorted, but Samuel called me over. “This is what we’re working on, it’s an antidote for vampires.”

My mouth dropped, “W-what?”

“Well, it only works as long as they haven’t drunk any human blood.”

“That’s… that’s incredible.” I was getting emotional. What I would have given to know this information years ago.

Sam stood in front of the table, “Her brother got turned and Dean killed him immediately after.”

I gaped and temporarily locked eyes with Dean. That was so unlike Sam. “I’m sorry to hear that, Sweetheart.”

I smiled at their grandpa, “It’s alright. Let’s save Dean.”

He filled me in on the plan that Dean needed blood from the vampire who bit him first which meant he was going into the nest. “I’ll go with him.”

“No.” I stared at Dean who shrugged, “No offense, Sweetheart. But you reek of humanity.”

I shrugged, “Fine, but I’m standing by in case you need my help.”

He didn’t answer. Instead, he headed straight out the window. This was all weird. I hadn’t seen the boys in over a year, and they were treating me like Public Enemy Number One. I tried not to read too much into it, I had left them alone to be fair.

Samuel and I talked for a while. It was pretty cool to hear stories and his perspective on things. It seemed that he was a strictly business person, but I really enjoyed listening to him knowing that I was talking to the father of the great Mary Winchester. It meant a lot. After about an hour of getting to know the grumpy man, I finally looked back over to Sam, “Sam, are you okay?”

Sam was usually the most emotionally involved person I knew, and he would talk a lot more than this. But he shrugged, “Fine.”

I felt awful. Maybe I had seriously offended them by leaving. Samuel put a hand on my shoulder, “How about you grab some food, Dear. I’ll talk to him.”

I smiled at him and grabbed a jacket before heading out the door. This was all so weird, it felt like a dream. My anxiety for Dean was through the roof, but I knew once I got there he would be dead or everything would be taken care of.

Buuuut I couldn’t help it. I switched directions and ran toward the nest, not thinking twice about what I was doing. I didn’t have a weapon, but I knew I needed to get there as soon as possible. I smiled at the Impala parked outside, it was a huge beacon of comfort. Which reminded me…. My hand flew to the necklace around my neck. I still hadn’t taken it off; it meant the world to me. I took a deep breath and headed through the door, thankful that Dean had trained me in hand-to-hand combat.

But I didn’t need it. The entire hallway was lined with passed out vamps. I picked up a machete off the floor, tucking it into my pants (dangerous, I know), and crouched forward to the main room of the building. There was Dean, also passed out on the ground. Was I too late???

I ran to his side to check his pulse, breathing a sigh of relief when I felt his steady heartbeat. I looked around to try and determine what was going on when I was grabbed from behind. I screamed in surprise, but my mouth was covered within seconds. “And who are you, hmm? Dean Winchester’s little plaything?”

I tried to get out of his grasp, but he tossed me to another guy who held my hands behind my back. Wonderful. Dean is gonna hate me even more.

Speaking of the devil, Dean came to a stand to face the vamp. “Such a shame, pretty boy. We could’ve been friends. But first the dead man’s blood and now the girl sneaking in from behind.”

Dean looked confused and the vamp pulled e forward. Dean looked at me with an annoyed look and turned back to the boss man, “Kill her if you want, I don’t care.”

“ohohoho. I think we will, Dean. And then we’ll kill you. Go ahead, Robert.”

Assuming Robert was the guy who held me back, I head-butted him and pulled out the machete, turning to chop off his head before he could regain his composure.

We were already surrounded by vamps, but I slid the machete to Dean who tossed the syringe to me with a small gesture of his chin toward the boss guy. We moved like clockwork. I swept my leg under the boss guy to get him to fall. He was down just long enough for me to fill the syringe with his blood and run back to Dean’s side. I grabbed his weapon from the floor and took out three vampires, realizing Dean had taken down everyone else on his own. I was…. Super impressed. But it was disgusting; I still loathed vampires. And we were both caked in blood which made me nauseous. I stood back while he took down the leader. He then turned to me with a scowl, “Let’s go.”

The ride back was quiet. I knew that I didn’t really help the situation, but I couldn’t bear to leave him alone. We walked into the motel and Samuel laughed as soon as he saw us, “You, little missy, remind me so much of my Mary.”

My heart warmed, I loved that. Dean froze for a second, the tips of his ears turning red. I tossed the syringe to their grandpa who whistled, “Great work.”

I blushed, “Well, I’d better actually pick up some food now.”

He smiled at me before turning to make the antidote. I washed my face and ran out the door, worried to death about if the antidote would work or not. I walked over to the nearest restaurant, thinking of all the ways things could turn south. I didn’t want Dean to die from this. I wanted it to work. I even made sure to pick up some pie as reassurance that he would be okay.

It was pretty cemented in my mind now that the boys hated me. I was mentally kicking myself for all my stupidity. I should’ve never left. I’ll probably just drop off the food and go. I didn’t want any more problems.

But when I walked back up to the motel, I found Jordan there waiting for me. “Hey…”

“Jordan. Hi.”

“Can we talk real quick?”

I nodded, nervous, but knowing I had to give him a chance. “One sec, just let me drop off the food.” He nodded slightly and I peaked through the door, “Here’s the food, guys. I’ll be back in just a second.”

Jordan and I sat on the bench just outside the door. I wasn’t sure what to say. For almost a year now, I thought that I loved him. But as soon as I saw Dean… nothing would ever compare to how I felt about him. “I’m sorry… I followed you here because I couldn’t just let you go.”

“I appreciate that, I really do. But…I thought I loved you. I thought you were the one. But once I was reunited with these people… I realized I was actually in the wrong place and with the wrong people.” I cringed. This was not coming out right at all.

“Oh.”

“You’re an amazing guy, Jordan. But my heart was stolen long before I went back to Harvard.”

“Well, maybe you could—”

“Audrey, what the hel—” I glared at Dean and his eyes widened, “Is this your…uh… your boyfriend?”

“Nope. No, she’s single.” Jordan stood up, heartbroken. I mentally facepalmed. I was usually so on top of my game and now I was doing everything wrong. “Y’all take care of her.”

I watched Jordan leave, feeling awful and relieved at the same time. “You had a boyfriend?”

“You surprised, Winchester? I am a human being, after all.” I looked back to him, “Are you okay? Did the antidote work?”

He scoffed, “It did, but I’ve got a bone to pick with you, young lady.”

I rose my eyebrows at him with a chuckle, “What?”

“What were you thinking earlier? You could have gotten yourself killed?”

“But I didn’t”

“And what makes you think that you can disappear when we need you the most and then just show up after a year like nothing happened?”

I blinked, “Dean, there were some things I needed to figure out.”

“Cut the crap and tell me why you really left.” I had seen Dean angry before, but this was on another level. I was kind of scared.

I bit my lip, “I don’t know.”

“You don’t know?! You can’t even be honest with me?! You just left the rest of us alone to fight Lucifer and Michael? You think pie is gonna make all of this better? Audrey, you’re the smartest one out of all of us. Maybe if you were there, I wouldn’t have lost Sam!!”

I stood up to match his level, “Dean, Sam’s back! He’s fine. You saved the world without me.”

He took a step closer, “He’s not the same now, Audrey. And you could’ve prevented that. All of this too, actually!!”

“Dean, I—”

“And why come back now?? What makes you think that’s okay?”

“UGH! You’re impossible! You left me the message, Dean. You called me. Why call me if you don’t me around?!?”

We were inches away now, yelling in each other’s faces. Things were going way too fast for me to even think through it all. His green eyes were full of rage, I couldn’t recognize him at all. “I called you because, unlike you, I thought that people deserved to know what happens with me! If I would’ve known you’d come, I never would have called!!”

“So, what? I was just supposed to let you die?”

“You seemed perfectly fine with doing that same thing a year ago!!”

“You’re impossible, Dean!! I left because I needed to. And I came back because I couldn’t bear to lose you again. I can’t go through that ever again!! Do you ever think about anything besides yourself?!?” He was silent and I sighed, winding up for round two, “Not so high and mighty now, huh? Gosh, Dean. You’re SO—"

It took me a few seconds to process what was happening. He had grabbed my face and kissed me as hard as he could. As soon as his lips met mine, my brain turned to mush, and my stomach exploded. I kissed him back, matching his passion and grabbing his shirt as the kiss deepened. There were years of longing and emotion being poured out. This was better than I’d ever imagined. His hands slid back into my hair and I wrapped my arms around his neck.

Then the door opened, and we broke away from each other, my face burning. I stared at the ground as Sam walked out, “Are y’all okay? I heard a lot of yelling.”

“We’re fine, Sammy. I was just scaring off her ex. I’ve got some info about the Alpha, by the way. I think it’s important.” They headed in, talking about vamps and stuff, and I literally had to take a minute to compose myself. I jumped around a little bit and screamed internally before Dean poked his head out with a soft smile, “You comin’ or what?”

I rolled my eyes and followed after him, feeling stuck on cloud nine.


	26. We're Not Gonna Take It

“I knew something was wrong with him…”

Sam and Dean did a case in Illinois where Dean found out that Sam hadn’t been sleeping or feeling emotion whatsoever. Which is what brought us all here; Dean had called in his ‘team’.

Cas circled Sam who was currently tied up on a chair in front of us. “I have an idea,” he stopped in front of Sam and leaned forward. Whatever it was he was about to do; I didn’t want to see it. I turned on my heel to face Dean, not wanting any part in what was going on.

The older brother looked at me with a sad smile. We hadn’t talked since the night we kissed, which was understandable. We were trying to figure out everything going on with the alpha vampire, then I spent a week with Bobby while the boys solved the case in Illinois, and now we got the call from Dean which put us all on high alert over Sam. I wanted to comfort Dean, but I didn’t know if there was anything I could say to make this better.

Cas cleared his throat, so I turned back around to hear the verdict. “So, this is definitely Sam. However, his soul is missing.”

“What?” Dean and I asked in unison. I’d never heard of anything like this which is saying a lot since I’ve studied practically every book in Bobby’s library a hundred times. How could someone be alive without a soul?

“It is possible that when he was taken from the cage his soul was left behind.”

Dean and I exchanged a look, then he sighed, “Alright. Well, let’s get it back.”

Sam nodded slightly, “I would appreciate that.”

My heart panged; I can’t imagine what he must be going through right now. Not feeling anything…he must feel so hollow. “So, the only info we’ve got is that Samuel came back at the same time Sam did. Let’s see what he knows.”

I pulled Dean to the side, “Do we really think he’ll know anything? Maybe he was just…brought back and he is just as clueless as Sam is.” I thought Samuel was grumpy, for sure, but definitely not soulless.

“Guess we’ll see,” Dean untied his brother and we headed straight there. Life really is so weird. Our little family had taken an odd turn. Sam was soulless, Dean and I were in a weird place, and Cas was preoccupied with a civil war in Heaven. We rode in silence, but as soon as we got there, Dean was strictly business. He questioned his grandpa rapid-fire only to find out that he really did not know anything about what was going on.

Cas turned to us after doing a thorough examination of Samuel, “His soul appears to be intact. I still have no idea what happened to Sam, but I’ll let you know as soon as I find something out.” With that, Cas was gone again.

“So, you really don’t remember anything?” I asked Samuel.

He shook his head, “All I know is---”

“Samuel, we’re ready,” Christian announced and left immediately.

“Ready for what?” Sam asked, eyes narrowed at his grandpa.

Samuel stared at the ground for a while, clearly not wanting to tell us anything. Finally, he sighed, “We… we found the alpha vamp.”

“Sweet, let’s go ice the guy,” Dean said, clapping his hands together.

Samuel looked between the three of us, his eyes finally landing on Sam, “I don’t think that’s a good idea.”

“Why not?” Dean prodded. I knew he was already suspicious of their grandpa, and this was clearly not making it any better. “What about family? We’re your daughter’s kids. That should be reason enough to trust us.”

He frowned a little, still watching Sam with a distasteful look. If he was bothered about Sam’s situation, I wouldn’t let that slide, “We aren’t family, Samuel. But I promise you that I trust these two men with my life. With or without souls.”

Dean stepped forward, “Plus, we’re hunting the alpha vamp. I have an inside perspective thanks to those visions.”

I doubt it was anything we said and more about his time crunch, but Samuel caved, “Alright. But we need to go now.”

We pulled up to a large house and, although I dreaded killing vampires, I picked up the weapons bag from the back, ready to go. Unfortunately, Samuel immediately took it from me, “Sorry, Sweetheart. But you’re not coming.”

“Wait…what?”

‘Why not?” Dean asked.

“You’re not invited either. I don’t trust you. Stay with Gwen,” He gave us a brief smile and left with literally everyone else.

“This is ridiculous,” Dean huffed, throwing his hands in the air.

Gwen laughed, “He never lets me go either. He thinks I’ll mess everything up.”

I exchanged looks with Dean and a silent agreement passed between us. I smiled empathetically at Gwen, “My hunting group used to do that to me, too.”

“Really?” All I had to do was keep talking while Dean snuck away to figure out what was going on.

I nodded, “Yeah, I did all the heavy lifting, but I was never allowed to hunt.” 

“Ugh, it’s the worst, isn’t it,” Gwen played with her hair a little, it seemed to be a nervous tick or something, “It’s like they think we’re useless just cause we’re girls.”

“Yeah, or maybe they’re just trying to protect us.” My mind went back to Eli and how he did all he could to protect me. Of course, it was really Kaden that stopped me from hunting. And now that I knew everything, I’m sure he’d been playing me the whole time. It really made me thankful for Dean who saw me for who I was and taught me to be the best I could be.

And I guess a vampire snuck up on me, cause Gwen pushed me to the side and took him down in one swing. I got back to my feet and thanked her, complimenting her on her form. She shrugged, “I come from a long line of hunters. It’s practically programmed into my brain at birth.”

I nodded; my parents were hunters, too. Not that it meant anything since they both died before I truly got to know them. “What about you? Are you going to raise your kids in the hunting life?”

She didn’t even pause to think it over, “Absolutely. You?”

“I don’t know. I guess that depends on who their dad is.” I was dating Jordan before. A perfectly normal, wonderful guy. And he would give me a perfectly normal life. But the person I really loved? I wasn’t sure if he’d ever be ready to leave the hunting world behind.

Before we knew it, everyone was back at the cars. “Let’s go,” Samuel ordered, “We’ve got work to do.” They drove off, leaving me alone to wait for the boys. I had just started to worry about their wellbeing when they finally walked over, and Dean was pissed.

“He has been lying to us,” Dean practically growled.

“What? What’s going on?” I asked, bewildered.

Sam let out a soft sigh, “We’ve been kidnapping alpha creatures for interrogation.”

“Wh--? Where are you taking them? And why?”

Sam shrugged, “Sorry, nosy. I don’t have that kind of clearance.”

I rolled my eyes, and Dean was practically fuming, “Well, let’s go find out.” This whole situation was way beyond my control, and I wasn’t sure what to do to help. This felt way above my skill set, but I took a deep breath. We’ve got this!

It took us a while, but once we finally made it to the warehouse, the boys went in to question the alpha while I stood guard outside the door. We had a secret knock set up for warning. I was trying to listen in on the conversation, but I only caught about every ten words or so. And from what I could gather, it was pretty boring. I just hoped that, no matter what, the boys were staying safe. All too soon, Samuel came down the hallway. And he wasn’t alone. Christian and Gwen were both with him. Clearly, she’d been distracting me as much as I’d been distracting her. I knocked on the door to tip off the boys and turned my attention back to the group, smiling, “Hey, guys! How’s it going?”

Samuel shook his head, “Why’d you have to be so reckless?”

Before I could respond, Christian grabbed me and pressed a knife to my throat, pushing me forward into the room. The three hunters pulled guns on the boys who held their hands up in surrender. Dean’s eyes were focused on Christian in a hard stare, “Let. Her. Go.” I was surprised at his lack of snark, but the deadly tone of his voice made up for it.

It didn’t scare Christian, though. In fact, it egged him on. He pressed the knife harder against my throat, making a small cut. Lovely. “I knew we couldn’t trust you,” Samuel chastised, clicking his tongue.

“Really? You couldn’t trust us? We didn’t betray our family by working with monsters behind their backs. And what’s with finding purgatory?!” Dean looked back to me and I tried to give him a reassuring look. The last thing I needed was for him to worry about me.

A loud clang rang out and I bit my lip. Not a good sign. The knife dropped to the floor and I turned in time to see the alpha vampire snap Christian’s neck. I was frozen in fear until someone literally pulled me away by my waist. “Shh,” Dean tightened his arms around my waist, and we stayed still while the alpha dropped Christian to the ground.

But things went south quickly when the alpha grabbed Sam next and immediately began to choke him. I screamed and threw a hand over my mouth out of pure shock. “A soulless human would make the perfect pet,” the alpha cooed.

Dean walked forward to attack, but Christian got the Alpha from behind, presumably with dead man’s blood. Before I could ask how he was walking around even though he was dead, his eyes flashed black. The surprises just never end. Just like that, six or seven demons showed up and dragged the alpha away. A content sigh rang out through the room, “I can always count on you for a show, boys.”

“Crowley?” I was shocked. I couldn’t help it; I hadn’t seen that guy in a long time…. And he was on our side the last time I saw him. “What’s going on?”

He grinned, “Hello, love. I’m afraid you’ve stumbled upon my underground operation.”

“Crowley, care to explain what’s going on here?” I was proud of Dean for not completely losing his mind. Today had been an awful day for him.

Crowley began pacing, “I’ve got an upgrade since the last time we spoke. I am now the King of Hell. With that comes the power to resurrect your brother and dear old granddad here. I thought they could be of service.”

“For what?” I asked, a little amused that Crowley was strutting his stuff while the rest of us were taking defensive stances.

“I’m trying to find Purgatory. It’s a great way to keep business booming.” I shot a look at Dean who was too busy scowling at Crowley to notice. “If you want to get Sammy’s soul back, I suggest you help your granddad capture the creatures to me. Help me find purgatory, and I bring back your brother’s soul. Deal?”

I hated the idea. But I knew exactly what Dean would say. We were clueless. We had no leads, no starting point, and no general direction whatsoever. This seemed like the only way. And for his little brother? “Deal.”

Crowley grinned, “Great! Pleasure doing business with you boys.”

Once they were all gone, Dean rushed back over to me, “Are you okay?”

I nodded, “I’m fine, but I hate this idea, Dean.”

“Yeah, I’m not a fan either. We just need to keep the act up until Sammy’s back to normal.”

Dean ordered two full meals and had already started to dig in. Meanwhile, I was watching his brother, “Sam… what do you think about all of this?”

He shrugged, “I’m not even sure if I want my soul back.”

Dean choked slightly, “Wait, what?!”

Honestly, it kind of made sense. As awful as I thought it would be to go on without a soul, Sam seemed to be handling it well. He was comfortable in his skin and was much more honest than he ever was before. “I mean, if I got it back, I’d have to deal with sadness, pain, and whatever awkwardness is going on between the two of you.”

Dean and I exchanged a look, and he cleared his throat, moving his arm off the back of my chair. “Sure, life has a lot of downs. But because of them, you can enjoy the ups. You can experience pure joy, love, and peace. Don’t you miss going for a morning jog and just soaking in the sun on your face? There is so much good here, Sam. It outweighs the bad. Don’t you want to love life again?” I knew I was rambling, but it was a difficult situation for Sam since he didn’t really know what he was missing out on.

His eyes darted between the two of us, “Of course I do. But I don’t know if being Crowley’s slave is the way to do it.”

I sighed, “He’s right. I don’t feel good about this at all, Dean.”

Dean was staring at his brother as if he was trying to figure him out. I wanted to ask Cas for help more than anything, but I trusted that if he knew anything then he would bring it to our attention. We had been providing monsters to Crowley for weeks, yet no progress had been made regarding Sam’s soul. “Me neither. I’m sick of it, man. And we’re giving him everything he wants.” To be fair, Crowley was a really good businessman. After everything that happened with Bobby and beating Lucifer, I thought Crowley could be trusted. And he’s so darn friendly. But he is a demon. And there was no way we could trust him, no matter how cool his accent is.

Honestly, I’m surprised that Dean even let it go this far. His perspective is usually so black and white, but we’d been living in the gray for far too long. I wanted to keep hope alive, but I was clueless. I didn’t even know that people could live without souls, let alone how to get them back.

I was about to suggest that we just wait for Cas, but I was hit in the back of my head and everything went black before I had the chance.

D E A N

Of all people, it had to be Meg. At least Sam was handling her well. “Tell me where he is, or I’ll kill the girl.”

Sam laughed, “You can’t hurt any of us. You need us to find Crowley.”

I smirked. Ten points to Soulless Boy. Meg sighed and tossed her knife to the ground, getting off of his lap, “Alright, you got me. Crowley is chasing all of us down since we were loyal to the true king of Hell. Naturally, I need to take him down. And fast.”

“Alright, so let’s team-up.”

“What?!” Meg and I chorused. There was no way I was working with a demon, especially not after the last time with Ruby.”

Sam shrugged, “We both want Crowley dead, why not team up to take him down?”

Meg nodded slowly, “What’s the catch?”

“We just need some information from him.”

Her eyes narrowed, “And what would that be?”

“Doesn’t matter. We can help you find him. You can help us get the information we need.”

She considered it for a moment before nodding to her demon minions who untied the three of us. “We’ll be in touch.” And all the demons were gone in the blink of an eye.

“What were you thinking, man?” I stared my brother down, waiting for an answer.

He just walked toward the door, “Relax. We’ll use her to get my soul back and then kill her once Crowley’s out of the picture.” He walked out and I blinked. This was a terrible idea.

“I think he’s on to something, Dean. Maybe we should trust him.”

I turned to Audrey, “I’m starting to worry that there’s no way to get him back.” I knew there was no way Crowley would help us out and Cas hadn’t found anything. It just felt like it was irreversible.

She smiled, “Sure there is. Think about all of the times we’ve defied fate. You’ve come back from Hell. Sam has come back from the cage… we got this!”

I shook my head slightly, “You make me sick.”

She laughed and pushed my arm, “You know I’m right.”

And just like that, Sam was back, “Cas is in.”

Cas walked in after him, “But my tracking spell failed so we’ll have to try something else.”

Audrey rose an eyebrow at me, “The gang’s all here, Dean. What’s the plan?” I’ll never understand how she never runs out of optimism and hope. She’s always right, of course, but sometimes it is really hard to carry on. But now, with Cas and Meg helping us out, we should be able to figure it all out.


	27. Thankful

“I’m going to kill him.”

Audrey sighed, “We have to get out of here first, Dean. Besides, he probably had a good reason.”

A good reason for betraying your only grandsons and the girl that reminds you of your daughter?? I couldn’t think of a single one. But she was right. If I couldn’t pull myself together, we’d be torn apart by ghouls in seconds. “This is nothing, Audrey. You and me? We’ll be out of here in seconds.”

And we held our own pretty well. We worked together to keep them at bay until Sam burst through the door and we killed all three ghouls. “Perfect timing, Sammy!”

We snuck around until we were able to kill Christian and save Meg from torture. Then we set up a devil’s trap and waited for Crowley. Audrey pulled me aside, “What if we can’t get his soul back?”

“I’ll find another way.”

“What about what Cas said? We can’t just le—”

“We’ll figure it out, Audrey. For Sam.” I knew I was being short with her, but we just couldn’t afford to give up. It’s Sam we’re talking about.

Luckily, Crowley wasn’t long. He waltzed into our trap and Sam took the floor, “We’re done with your dirty work, Crowley. I want my soul back.”

Crowley just chuckled, “Never a dull moment with you lot, eh?”

Meg stepped forward, “I can carve you up all day, Crowley. Answer the question.”

When Crowley didn’t answer, she went to work. Audrey grabbed my arm, so I turned to her with a small smile, knowing this was too much for her. I reached up and grabbed her hand, rubbing my fingers against the back of it to distract her. She blushed and I smiled to myself; what a beautiful girl.

Finally, Crowley caved. “Enough! I lied, alright? I can’t get his soul back.” The energy in the room deflated for a moment before I got super angry. “And you wouldn’t want it back anyway, Moose. With that much torture? Getting your soul back would destroy you.”

“Alright, Meg. Do the honors,” Sam nodded.

I tossed Ruby’s knife to Meg who stepped forward to kill Crowley, but he knocked it out of her hand and scratched the devil’s trap just to escape.

Then Cas showed up, “You have one more chance. Can you get Sam’s soul back?”

It was great that Cas came back to help, but I wished he would have shown up earlier. Crowley scowled at the duffel bag that Cas was holding, “What’s that you got there, big boy?”

Cas reached in and displayed a skull that caused Crowley to recoil in fear. Crowley looked between us all before looking back to Cas, “I can’t get his soul back.”

Without another word, Cas set the bag on fire and Crowley went up in flames. I groaned to myself, rubbing my face. I only had one card left to play.

It was time to have a chat with Death.

S A M

We’d only ever had one ‘proper’ holiday, and that was the Christmas before Dean went to Hell. Of course, living on the road and not having a real family made that kind of a given. But it seemed that Audrey was very determined to change that. She was planning a real Thanksgiving this year, and our entire ‘family’ was invited. That is Ellen, Jo, Bobby, Jody, and even Cas.

We were, naturally, beyond excited. I had only faint memories of the last eighteen months, and Dean refused to tell me anything about how I got out of the cage or what happened after. So it was nice to have a break from worrying about my amnesia or why Dean was being so evasive.

At the moment, I was packing supplies while Audrey shredded the turkey at the kitchen island. She had a whole array of food laid out and it was pretty impressive. I almost didn’t believe that this was her first Thanksgiving.

That’s when Dean sauntered in and popped some turkey in his mouth. He was about to grab a roll too, but Audrey slapped his hand, “Hold your horses, cowboy. It’s not ready yet.”

Dean smirked and wrapped his arms around her waist, resting his chin on her shoulder, “What can I say, Sweetheart?” He turned his face into her neck before whispering the rest of the sentence into her ear.

I smiled to myself as her face quickly reddened and she shook her head slightly, “Your charms won’t work on me, Winchester. You’re gonna have to wait just like the rest of us.”

I coughed, “Yeah, bold of you to assume Audrey would give you any special treatment, Dean.” I chuckled, but he just shrugged.

“She does seem awfully fond of me,” He grabbed another piece of turkey and she finally pushed him away from her.

“Gosh, Dean, your appetite is almost as big as your ego.” I laughed again, earning a dirty look from my brother. Audrey walked to the fridge and handed a pie tin to Dean, “Knock yourself out, just stay away from everything else.”

Dean looked like a kid in a candy store. He hopped up to sit on the counter behind her and dove into the pie. “Please don’t tell me you made that just for him.”

She shrugged with a soft smile playing on her lips, “I knew he’d need a distraction.”

But Dean wasn’t done teasing her just yet. He moaned loudly, making her blush ten shades deeper than before. “Son of a—this is the best pie I’ve ever tasted.”

“It’s just apple pie, Dean. Knock it off.”

He took another bite, moaning again, definitely trying to get a rile out of her. I watched him dip his fingers into it and suck the pie off, exaggerating the sounds, “Tastes amazing.”

She gripped the counter and shot me a look. I was beyond amused, it was like watching a rom-com, so I refused to interfere. “I would smash your face into that pie if I hadn’t spent hours on it.”

Uh-oh. He scooped up some of the pie filling, covered it in whip cream, and came up behind her, “What, like this?” Then he rubbed his hand all over her face.

She screamed and rubbed it out of her eyes before doing all she could to rub her face in his chest. He held her back pretty well, she only managed to get some on his neck. Frustrated, she grabbed a pitcher of water and dumped it on him. I laughed and snuck a few pictures on my phone as he threw her over his shoulder, and she shrieked with laughter. I knew I’d get sick of this behavior eventually, but right now it was just exciting that my brother had found his happiness.

“Alright, idjits. Play time’s over, everyone will be at the spot before we know it,” Bobby had snuck in with a fond smile but used a firm voice to get our attention. Audrey stepped away from Dean, muttered something about freshening up, then ran upstairs.

“Dean and I will pick up some drinks,” I told Bobby, then dragged my brother out the door. I could hear Bobby chuckling behind us and felt bad for rushing out, but I needed answers. I shot a look at Dean, but he was too busy using his shirt as a towel that he didn’t notice, “Alright, Dean. What are you not telling me?”

He looked up, eyes wide, “Nothing.”

I continued to stare him down, “I think I’d know if you and Audrey got together, right? But you two are acting like a couple, so something happened between you that I’m not aware of. What was it?”

He sighed and got in the car, so I followed his lead. He started driving to the grocery store, “She ran off to finish Med School, so naturally, I was upset about it. When she came back, I told her off and she retaliated with how worried she was about me,” He chuckled and stared out the window for a while, “I got caught up in the heat of the moment and the way she looked under the moon…and I kissed her. And I swear, Sammy, it was the best kiss I ever had.” There was a light in his eyes and he literally looked like the happiest person on earth, “But we got swamped with cases and stress… so we never addressed it.”

“So, now what?”

He shrugged, “Nothing.”

I turned in my seat to properly stare at my brother, “Nothing? Dean, you love her. You have for years. You have to do something.”

“Right. So, I’ll bury everything deep deep down and I’ll hide behind winks and cheesy pick-up lines.” He gestured as if to say, ‘good plan, isn’t it?’ I shook my head, and he smirked, “Now let’s go get some drinks.”

As soon as we got inside, he ducked behind a shelf to hide from me. I wasn’t about to let him get the last word, so I leaned over, “Audrey is an amazing girl, Dean, and she won’t be around forever. You make a mover or someone else will.”

He stayed silent. I hoped that meant he was seriously thinking about everything, but I doubted it. We bought the drinks and drove out to the mountains. Because rather than cramming us all in Bobby’s kitchen, Audrey found us a beautiful, forested spot. We pulled up and set the table just in time for the girls to arrive. Bobby and Audrey were not here yet, presumably because they were still working on the food. Jody and Ellen had both brought side dishes and pies of their own that we put on a separate food table which was already packed. Clearly, Audrey had made a few trips up here already.

Jo was telling us about a recent hunt they’d done where a witch almost hexed her. Just as she got to the climax of the story, though, Audrey and Bobby pulled up. Jody ran over to help them, and Dean’s attention immediately went to Audrey. The number of times that had happened to Jo was immeasurable, but she still paused her story. She wasn’t surprised, but she did look angry. I nodded at her to continue, but she shook her head, glaring at my brother.

Dean ignored her and ran to take the food that Audrey was carrying and shooed her over to the table. What a gentleman. Audrey made her rounds, hugging and greeting each of the women before sitting down, “We invited Cas, too, but he is super busy. So, it looks like it’ll just be us.”

“Can he even eat?” Jo asked.

Audrey stared at Jo with a thoughtful expression, “You know what, I don’t think he does.”

Jody came back and squeezed Audrey’s hand, “Did you really make all of this?”

“I mean, I definitely had some help.”

I shook my head, “She did it all, Jody. The only help we did was eating the scraps.”

Jody and Ellen both looked impressed and Jody leaned back in her seat, “Who taught you to cook like that?”

Audrey just shrugged, “I’ve just always enjoyed it, so lots of practice I guess.”

“The girl’s a natural. Has been since she was eight,” Bobby corrected.

The idea of a young Audrey cooking a full meal made me laugh as we all settled into our seats. Just as we were about to start, Cas showed up.

“Cas!” Audrey cheered and gestured for him to take her seat, “We’re so glad you’re here!”

Cas looked uncomfortably at Dean who just shrugged, then sat down across from him. Audrey grinned and sat in between me and Dean, “Thank you all for making it out today, it means so much to me. I just wanted to say that I truly have so much to be thankful for, but the top of my list will always be our little family that we’ve got here. I love you all! Happy Thanksgiving!”

We all cheered and dove in. Honestly, this kind of felt like waking up in the twilight zone. Suddenly, we were in a world where monsters didn’t exist, and we could just pause and appreciate the world around us. Bobby was catching Ellen and Jody up to speed on the hunts we had been on, while Cas, Audrey, and Dean were talking and laughing in a little group, and Jo was asking me about life. “Do you think you’ll ever go back to Stanford?”

I smiled, “Not sure.” When Audrey had asked me, I didn’t think it was possible. But now, “I mean, Audrey somehow finished at Harvard eve---”

“You’re kidding.”

I blinked at Jo who looked pissed off, “Wh-what?”

“I just mean… is there anything wrong with that girl?”

Jo wasn’t even looking at me at this point, she was glaring in Audrey’s direction. Uh-oh. I had dealt with this before with Jess. Girls were really competitive with her and things like this never went over well. “Well, she’s definitely not perfect.”

“I love her, don’t get me wrong, but seriously. Everyone is in love with her. Look at that!!” She gestured over to Dean who was, I’ll admit, practically drooling over Audrey.

I cleared my throat, “Jo, they’ve known each other since they were---”

“I’m sorry, Sam. Really. It’s nothing.” I blinked again. Talk about confusing. “So, you’re thinking about going back now?”

I glanced at my brother, trying to send him a pleading look before nodding, “Yeah, or maybe just finishing classes online.”

“Well, that’s fun. I haven’t thought of school in… years.”

“Audrey, honey,” Ellen called across the table, effectively getting everyone’s attention, “This food is amazing. Quick question: are you single?”

Audrey did her classic shy giggle and glanced at Dean, “Er… technically, yes. Why?”

“I just know this lovely boy who would absolutely adore you. I’ll have to introduce you sometime next week.”

Audrey immediately went red and Dean chuckled, “Look at that, you are still the Belle of the ball.”

Audrey elbowed him and teased him about his fairytale knowledge then Jody spoke up. “I know this is a new concept to a lot of you, but I’d like to just take a few minutes to share what we are all grateful for. If it’s alright with y’all, I’d like to start. I am thankful that you helped me save my town on that awful day because even though I lost a lot, I gained a new family. I’m thankful for the chance to serve my people every day. Life is beautiful.”

Ellen smiled, “It’s tough to follow that, but I am also thankful for all of you. I will never forget that Castiel saved my little Jo. Even though we lost the roadhouse, I’m grateful that we were able to start up again and get business running smoothly.”

Everyone was nodding and mumbling amongst themselves. I didn’t notice it, but Castiel was the next one to speak. “Oh, Cas, you don’t ha—”

“I want to,” he cut Audrey off, “because you all mean so much to me. Even though things are… chaotic in Heaven right now, I always know that I can visit you and feel happy and safe. I never thought I meant anything to anyone, and now I’m here. So, thank you. For inviting me in. I love you. All of you.” Even though his thoughts came out a little choppy and jumbled, there was raw emotion there. It was sweet.

Audrey gave his hand a squeeze and Jo cleared her throat, “I’m also grateful for Castiel since he literally put me back together again. I am thankful for the Winchester’s and their endless entertainment, and I’m thankful for my mother who is and always will be my best friend.”

I was sitting next to her at the table which meant that I was next in the circle. But what could I say without getting emotional? “I’m grateful for many things. Life hasn’t gone exactly how I’d hoped. But meeting all of you was worth it. I’m thankful that Dean got me from college and that we got Audrey back and met Cas. I’m thankful for all of you. Thanks for making life worth living.”

Dean smirked, “Well, I’m grateful for pie, beer, and beautiful women—” we all laughed, and I smacked the back of his head. He chuckled and rubbed it, “But, really. What we have here is special. Bobby was right; family don’t end in blood. And I think we’ve proved what family can do. We stopped the apocalypse! And Cas, thank you for your help with everything. I know we can be bossy, but we love you, man. And Audrey,” He turned to look at her, “Thank you for never giving up on me. Life would be pointless without you.”

Everyone let out an ‘awe’ until Dean told up to shut up, a very fitting end to his sentiments. Audrey laughed, “I’m just happy to be here. I love you all so much and I just want you to know that you are all the most important thing in my life. I’m thankful for this beautiful world that we live in and for the chance to save people every day. I’m grateful that you have all treated me like your family. It means the world.”

Finally, it was Bobby’s turn. “This young woman means everything to me. As you all know, my biggest regret is not having children with my beautiful wife. But Audrey and Eli made me believe that I didn’t completely fail her. And these two boys,” It was weird seeing Bobby getting emotional, it made me tear up as well. “Are some of the best men I know. I am grateful just to be here with y’all again and that my legs are working. I love ya, ya idjits.”

Everyone laughed and Jody rose a glass, “To our happy family!”

Everyone cheered and toasted. We talked for a while in a big group, laughing and swapping stories. Eventually, Jody, Bobby, and Ellen broke off into their own conversation, and Jo started telling Audrey about this guy her mom wanted her to meet.

I left to get more salad and, unfortunately, came back at the worst time. “…he also has this insane need to overachieve at everything so the two of you would be perfect together.”

I exchanged confused looks with Dean who looked clueless. It seemed so unlike Jo to take swings at anyone, let alone Audrey, who just smiled, “I’m sure he’s a great guy.”

“Yeah, maybe he’s your true love. Do you think he could be your husband?” I rose an eyebrow and opened my mouth, but Audrey had a handle on everything.

“I don’t know. I think true love is something you work for, not just destiny. But we’ll see,” She smiled then turned to Cas, “How are things in Heaven? Are you doing okay?

Cas nodded curtly, “We’re managing. Things get more difficult every day.”

The rest of the evening went pretty well. Cas and Audrey showed off the dance moves they’d been working on which started a talent show. Dean sang some rock songs, Ellen and Jody did a small skit about a drunk driver, Bobby told us a scary story, Jo sang some new pop songs, and I was an extra in the drunk driver skit. We were all laughing and having a grand time, and I really did forget about everything going on in the real world. In fact, I don’t think I’ve ever laughed as hard as I had tonight.

Dean took pictures of Audrey by some colorful trees which led to group pictures. We also thought it would be funny to get solo pictures of Cas before he left. Best decision ever.

Then we headed to Bobby’s and Jo helped Audrey cleaned up while the rest of us talked for hours, finally together as a family. The day was perfect, at least that’s what we all thought. But the second that the women drove away, Audrey turned and ran to her bedroom.


	28. Lucky

After a brief counseling session, we decided it would be best for Bobby to go talk to Audrey. They were the most like family out of all of us, and we had no idea what had happened. Audrey was absolutely beautiful tonight. She radiated love and confidence, she slaved so hard just to bring us all together, and she was so happy it hurt. I couldn’t keep a smile off my face all day.

I couldn’t think of one thing that would upset her. So, after Bobby went up to her room, I bolted upstairs to the room Sam and I had been staying in and opened the window. Our room was right next to hers, and I assumed she would be sitting in her bay window, so I had the prime spot to listen in without actually being in the room.

Luckily, my assumptions were right. I could hear most of their conversation, as long as they weren’t too quiet. They had clearly been talking for a while about how Thanksgiving went because Audrey was in the middle of a thought, “… and it was great that Cas was even able to make it. It’s just… it’s so important to me that everyone knows we’re a family.”

“So what went wrong, then?” I was surprised by Bobby’s boldness, but I’m sure it would work.

That’s when I heard Audrey start to cry. I wanted to go over there so badly, but I knew it wouldn’t be a good idea. “I just don’t get it, Bobby. What did I do wrong?”

Oof. Not even knowing what was going on, I felt awful. She’d seemed so happy and it made me mad that something could ruin all of her work for a perfect holiday. “What do you mean, kiddo?”

A few more sniffles came, “J-Jo. She was attacking me a-all night.”

“What?”

“At first I t-thought she was just upset because Dean has been weird around me lately,” that made my heart stop. She thought I was weird around her? Maybe I was coming across the wrong way…. “B-but then she started saying that I had slept around with ev-every—” she broke into tears again, and I was just confused beyond belief. Why would Jo ever imply something like that? When she started talking again, I couldn’t hear her well enough to tell what she was saying, but I knew Jo had said some pretty nasty things. Audrey had, of course, handled everything really well. None of us knew anything was going on.

Bobby cleared his throat, “Well, kiddo, you know she doesn’t think any of that. You know that. She loves you like a sister and, well, even sisters fight.”

A small chuckle came from Audrey, “Of course.”

“I think you’re right. It’s probably about Dean. But that’s not your fault.” I honestly thought this whole thing with Jo was stupid. I never had feelings for her, I’d always treated her like a sister, and I just didn’t know how we’d got to the point where she could be jealous of Audrey.

“Well, that’s another thing, Bobby. I don’t really know what’s going on with Dean.”

I leaned farther out the window, my heart pounding. This is exactly what I’d hoped to hear. “How do you mean?”

She groaned and I could almost see her hiding her face, “It’s all just so confusing, I don’t know.”

Again, they dropped their voices so I couldn’t hear for a while. Then Bobby asked her how she felt about me. Jackpot!

Unfortunately, that’s also when Sam dragged me out of the room, “It’s not nice to eavesdrop, Dean.”

I glared at him, “Like you’re not curious.”

He rolled his eyes and pulled me downstairs, “If Audrey wants to tell us something, then she’ll tell us. Let’s go for a drive.”

“But she was just getting to the interesting stuff!”

He gave me a dirty look, “Seriously, Dean?”

“Sammy,” I whined, “She said she loved me.”

He didn’t stop walking, he just scoffed, “Confusion is far from love, Dean. Now get in the car.”

I smirked, “I knew it!! I knew you listened in, too!”

He blushed, “Shut up and get in the car.”

I laughed and did as he said, knowing I’d never let him forget this. But it wasn’t fair. Audrey sacrificed so much and worked tirelessly to make sure that we all felt loved and included, and Jo threw it back in her face. On top of that, Ellen had some guy for her to meet and I hated that. Sam had rubbed it in my face earlier, saying he ‘told me so’ and ‘it was now or never.’

I just didn’t know how to tell her.

Sam and I brainstormed on how to make her feel better before finally settling on ice cream and a movie. She wouldn’t be down tonight, but we could take tomorrow off and just chill. That was our goal, to make her happy.

And my mission: let her know how I feel before I lose her forever.

Mission failed. Life stepped in once again to stop me. This time, life came in the form of a violent worm-monster-thing. We weren’t sure what it was, exactly, but it made people go crazy violent. For example, our own grandpa tried to kill us before Sam was forced to shoot him down. I hated the guy, but it was still terrible to see. Bobby and Rufus were currently seeing what they could find going on with Samuel, hoping to find the monster worm hiding in his dead body. Meanwhile, the rest of us were hiding in another room.

“I’m so sorry, boys.”

I shrugged, “The guy sucked.”

Audrey gave me a look, “Dean, he was family.”

“Not in my book he ain’t. Family don’t end with blood, but it don’t start there either.”

Sam sighed, “It’s just weird of him to turn on us like that. This thing must be really dangerous.”

Audrey hummed and sat on the counter. She had been keeping her distance since Thanksgiving. We were immediately thrown back into this case the day after, so I never got my chance with her. And now she had her blind date tomorrow. “Think this might have something to do with Eve?”

“Eve? I sure hope---” A gunshot interrupted my thoughts and all three of us ran to the other room, calling out for Bobby. I cursed myself for leaving them alone with that ugly thing crawling around.

We ran in to find Rufus dead on the floor and Bobby looking devastated. Sam ran to him and I turned on my heel to grab Audrey, “Go home.”

Her brow furrowed, “What? Dean, I can help.”

“No, Audrey. You need to get out of here.”

“I’m not leaving you.” She stared me straight in the eyes before clearing her throat, “Any of you, I mean, you’re family.”

My insides were turning at her small confession, but I was not going to risk it, “I can’t lose you. So please, go home.”

She shrugged me off and ran to Bobby’s side and I groaned. This thing takes complete control of you. It doesn’t let you fight back to save those you love. I didn’t want to lose Audrey, and particularly not at the hands of one of us. On the other hand, she had already dealt with enough grief as it is. I didn’t want her to suffer more than she already has by watching each of us die one-by-one.

“You just gonna stand there, pretty boy? We think we’ve got something.”

I grabbed her hand one more time, “Audrey—”

She gave my hand a squeeze and kissed my cheek, “We’re gonna work through this together, Dean. We’ll all be okay. Now c’mon.”

I sighed and followed her as she explained that electricity is what got the worm out. By the time we reached Bobby, though, he had tackled Sam to the ground, and he was moving to hit him. I cursed under my breath, “Bobby! Bobby, hey!”

He looked up just long enough for Sam to get out from under him. When he noticed Sam was gone, he slammed Audrey’s head into the table which immediately caused her to fall unconscious. Great, things were unraveling so fast. We grabbed Bobby and eventually managed to tie him to the chair. I nodded to Sam who immediately began electrocuting Bobby, and I ran to Audrey’s side.

She wouldn’t leave, and now she’s seriously hurt. I should have bossed her a little more to get her out of here. I checked her for any injuries and held a hand to her forehead, checking for anything out of the ordinary. I shook her shoulder, knowing she should be staying awake if she was concussed. But she didn’t move.

I finally leaned over her and pressed a kiss to her forehead, brushing her hair back with my hand. Her eyes fluttered open and I gave her a look, “I told you to get out of here.”

She rolled her eyes, “Whatever, lover boy. I’m fine. How’s Bobby?”

As if he was answering, Bobby let out a scream of pain. Audrey smiled weakly, “What a day, huh?”

I chuckled, she always downplays situations, “Hey, I am seriously worried about you. You mean way too much to me.”

Her playful smile dropped, and she stared into my eyes, “Dean…”

“Eve. She has a message for you,” Bobby grunted. I helped Audrey to her feet, and we looked over to Bobby who was smirking, “She’s gonna kill you all.”

Sam sighed and electrocuted Bobby one final time. The worm fell out of his mouth in a fried crisp and we collectively sighed with relief. Bobby blinked a few times before sitting up with a frown. Clearly, he remembered everything. He immediately walked over to Rufus and whimpered. I’d never seen the man show any sort of affection to Rufus, but he explained that they were at odds and never resolved the argument. We dropped everything and helped Bobby hold a funeral for his friend which was great since it kept me distracted.

But that night flew by. Since Rufus had gone out on such a dark note, I wasn’t able to talk to Audrey. But I was not going to let her meet Ellen’s friend. It really was now or never.

“Do you think she’s gonna do it?” I asked, pacing at the foot of the stairs.

Sam snorted, “Yeah, Dean. I do.”

We hadn’t seen Audrey since the funeral last night, but my anxiety was through the roof, “How? How could she…ugh!” I ran a hand through my hair in frustration.

“Dude, I told you she wouldn’t wait around forever.”

“But we---” I looked back to see Sam raising his eyebrows expectantly and I bolted up the stairs without a second thought. He was right. And I owed it to her to put forth an effort. I walked into a room with a sense of urgency that I hadn’t felt in a long time, “Don’t go.”

“Huh?”

“Don’t meet up with Ellen’s friend.”

A smile played on her lips as she turned to face me, “and why not, Dean? Is he a werewolf in disguise?”

I rolled my eyes and sat next to her at the bay window, “I doubt it. But I’ve been thinking a lot recently… about things… and life is too dang short.” She nodded, looking back out the window. We had lost a ton of people, including her entire family. And the recent deaths were pretty awful too. “I don’t want to die knowing I missed the opportunity of a lifetime.”

She smirked, “Awe, don’t worry, Dean. I’m sure they’ll have pie in the afterlife.” She pushed my arm softly and I took the chance to grab her hand and pull her closer while mock laughing at her jab.

She was laughing at me, but our laughter died out until it was just us looking at each other intently. I was trying to gauge her reactions as I went forward, I knew she’d deflect for as long as possible, “I’m serious. We just lost Rufus and Samuel. We almost lost Bobby… heck we all could have died in there if Sam wasn’t there. The point is, I can’t die with the regrets I have now.”

She was watching me as carefully as I was watching her. I know she’s not stupid, I’d been pretty obvious about everything. “Dean…” Her voice came out as a whisper and I could have sworn her eyes fell to my lips temporarily.

I slid forward and caressed her cheek, “Audrey, I can’t lose you.” I brushed my thumb on her jawline, looking into her eyes. “I love you.”

She gasped slightly and leaned into my hand, “Dean… I love you, too. So so much.”

I couldn’t take it anymore. I grabbed her face and kissed her as hard as I could. This kiss went way beyond anything I’d ever experienced before, including our first one during the fight. I pulled her onto my lap, and she giggled, sending my heart into overdrive. I pressed my forehead into hers, “You can’t back out. You’re mine now.”

She laughed and shoved my arm, “You’re the worst, Dean.”

I pressed a kiss to her jawline, “Maybe, but I’m just happier than I’ve ever been before.”

She laughed again, “Well it took you long enough.”

“Yeah,” I mumbled, kissing her again and again, “But I intend to enjoy every second.”


End file.
